Chinese spy craft communicated with China via US internet provider: report
A new report revealed that the Chinese spy craft that flew over the U.S. at the beginning of this year was communicating with mainland China via an American internet provider.
Chinese spy craft communicated with China via US internet provider: report
According to a new report from NBC News, the Chinese spy craft that flew over the U.S. earlier this year used an American internet provider to communicate with mainland China. The report states that the spy craft mainly used the internet provider for navigational communications.
The report does not disclose the name of the internet provider, but the company denies that the Chinese spy craft used its services. The company conducted its own investigation and spoke with U.S. officials to reach this conclusion.
Officials revealed that the spy craft utilized high-bandwidth burst transmissions to send information. The Biden administration requested a highly secretive order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to collect intelligence on the spy craft's communications during its flight over multiple states.
China's history of using commercial internet providers for backup communications networks
It is not uncommon for China to utilize commercial internet providers in different countries as backup communications networks. Encrypted networks are often sought out for their security. In the past, China has secretly used these networks for communication purposes.
The Chinese embassy spokesperson claims that the spy craft was actually a weather balloon that had drifted off-course due to meteorological conditions. However, the intentions behind the balloon's flight and its communication activities remain a subject of debate.
Biden administration's handling of the spy craft incident
Despite Biden administration officials denying that the Chinese spy craft collected and transmitted data, a previously unreported phone call between top military advisers sheds new light on the incident. The administration initially intended to keep the balloon's existence a secret from Congress and the public, according to multiple former and current officials.
While some officials claim there was an attempt to conceal the incident, a senior Biden administration official said that decisions were made to protect sensitive intelligence capabilities. The full details of the incident and the administration's handling of it are still being investigated.
