The top spy master in the UK will warn the public on Wednesday (July 14) that the threat of espionage from Russia and China is regarded as terrorism, and warned that foreign spies are trying to steal technology, sow discord and attack infrastructure.
The 9/11 attacks on the United States nearly 20 years ago made combating terrorism the top priority of Western intelligence agencies, and a large amount of resources were concentrated on the threats of local and foreign militants.
But the increasingly tough attitudes of Russia and China have turned some of the attention of the most powerful spy chiefs in the West to old-fashioned counterintelligence, or spies tracking other spies. This is an ongoing game of cat and mouse.
In a speech at the Thames Palace, MI5, Director General of the Security Agency (MI5), Ken McCallum said that British intelligence services have recorded 10,000 disguise attempts by foreign spies to manipulate ordinary British people.
McCallum would say that the consequences of espionage by foreign forces may “from frustration and inconvenience, to loss of livelihood, and possibly even loss of life.”
In an excerpt from a speech released by MI5, he said: “Over time, we must cultivate the public’s awareness and resilience to national threats, as we have done on the issue of terrorism over the years.”
British spies claimed that China and Russia independently sought to steal commercially sensitive data and intellectual property, as well as interfere in politics and spread misinformation.
Beijing and Moscow say that the West has a sense of paranoia about conspiracy. Both Russia and China deny that they are interfering, stealing technology, conducting cyber attacks or sowing discord abroad.
Professional spy McCallum said that the entire country should be alert to the threat of foreign spies.
“We have seen the discoveries of outstanding British universities and researchers being stolen or copied; we have seen companies being hollowed out because they have lost the advantages they have worked so hard to build,” he said.
“As long as there is half the chance, hostile actors will shorten years of patient research or investment in the UK. This is happening on a large scale. It will affect all of us. UK employment, UK public services, UK futures.”
MI5 began as a counterintelligence agency in 1909, first focusing on threats from Germany, and then following the Cold War threat posed by Soviet agents after World War II.
