Chinese Vendor Imprisoned for Espionage After Leaking Railway Data to Foreign Firm Amid Security Crackdown

A Chinese supplier has been imprisoned for distributing railway information to international entities, as reported by the State Security Ministry. The ministry indicated that the Chinese firm was lured by a profitable agreement to collect data, which was subsequently classified as 'intelligence information.'

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The report states that a Chinese IT firm, which was not named, secured a commercial deal in late 2020 to gather electronic signal data across China's extensive railway systems. This contract was awarded by a foreign company, which previously conducted market research prior to entering the Chinese railway sector to offer technical support services.

The ministry reported that due to Covid restrictions in Beijing, the international firm was unable to deploy its staff to China and consequently delegated tasks to local Chinese suppliers. It was also revealed that this company serves a wide range of clients, among them foreign intelligence services, military and defense entities, as well as governmental agencies.

The report indicated that the Chinese firm understood the potential hidden agendas of the overseas company, yet driven by the attractive terms of the agreement, proceeded to procure and set up machinery as per the stipulations of the international contract. It gathered information from designated spots and carried out both stationary and mobile examinations and data gathering across various cities and along express train routes, in line with the foreign customer's directives.

The department reported that the initiative amassed 500 gigabytes of data over the course of a month, encompassing information from Internet of Things signals, mobile and railway communications, and secure networks.