Analyst says China spying on US-based cellphone users

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Based on an analysis by former mobile network security executive Gary Miller, China has been tracking US-based cellphone users since 2018 up to the present.
• The Chinese Communist Party was using the Caribbean mobile networks to spy on the users.
• Miller said that Beijing is manipulating its own mobile operator China Unicom to infiltrate thousands of cellphone subscribers.

A published report on Monday claimed that China has employed a tapping scheme into the cellphones of Americans using Caribbean mobile networks to spy on the US.

An analysis made by former mobile network security executive Gary Miller showed that Beijing has penetrated the telecommunications network in its bid to track and monitor communications of American phone users who are traveling outside the country, the Guardian reported.

The analysis discovered that China is using the Caribbean networks in tracking phone calls after an assessment of signaling messages of local and international mobile operators.

Primarily, signaling messages are being utilized by telecommunications companies worldwide for operators to locate mobile phones, connect phone calls, and evaluate roaming charges. China, however, was using the platform for espionage purposes, per Miller’s report.

According to Miller, US mobile phone operators are capable of halting China’s spying actions but do not extend their services to shield users from being tracked.

“Government agencies and Congress have been aware of public mobile network vulnerabilities for years,” Miller told the Guardian. “Security recommendations made by our government have not been followed and are not sufficient to stop attackers.”

Miller also added that “no one in the industry wants the public to know the severity of ongoing surveillance attacks,” emphasizing that he wanted to make it known to the public.

Using its state-owned China Unicom, Beijing has launched massive surveillance efforts, infiltrating thousands of phone uses via 3G and 4G networks from 2018 to the present.

“Once you get into the tens of thousands, the attacks qualify as mass surveillance, which is primarily for intelligence collection and not necessarily targeting high-profile targets. It might be that there are locations of interest, and these occur primarily while people are abroad,” Miller said.

Last April, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released an advisory of planning to close down China Unicom’s operation in the US. FCC chairman Ajit Pai said that they were wary about Beijing’s infiltration attacks.

Miller shared his analysis with the goal of exposing this alarming scheme as he calls for stronger measures to be taken against the Chinese Communist Party.

Source: New York Post