Update on the Chinese surveillance balloon

[OVERKILL]

U.S. intelligence officials determined the Chinese spy balloon used a U.S. internet provider to communicate

An American intelligence assessment found that the balloon used a commercially available U.S. network to communicate, primarily for navigation, U.S. officials say.

www.nbcnews.com

WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence officials have determined that the Chinese spy balloon that flew across the U.S. this year used an American internet service provider to communicate, according to two current and one former U.S. official familiar with the assessment.

The balloon connected to a U.S.-based company, according to the assessment, to send and receive communications from China, primarily related to its navigation. Officials familiar with the assessment said it found that the connection allowed the balloon to send burst transmissions, or high-bandwidth collections of data over short periods of time.


The Biden administration sought a highly secretive court order from the federal Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to collect intelligence about it while it was over the U.S., according to multiple current and former U.S. officials. How the court ruled has not been disclosed.

*snip*

Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said it was a weather balloon that accidentally drifted into American airspace.

"As we had made it clear before, the airship, used for meteorological research, unintentionally drifted into U.S. because of the westerlies and its limited self-steering capability," Liu told NBC News in a statement. "The facts are clear."

Chinese intelligence officials have covertly used commercially available service providers in various countries in the past, often as backup communication networks, according to multiple former U.S. officials. They frequently seek out encrypted networks or ones with strong security protocols so they can communicate securely, the officials said.

The ending note of this statement seems to run contrary to the opening statement in the article:

After the balloon was shot down, a senior State Department official said that it was used by China for surveillance and that it was loaded with equipment able to collect signals intelligence.

The balloon had multiple antennas, including an array most likely able to collect and geolocate communications, the official said. It was also powered by enormous solar panels that generated enough power to operate intelligence collection sensors, the official said.

Defense and intelligence officials have said the U.S. assessment is that the balloon was not able to transmit intelligence back to China while it was over the U.S.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

There is some degree of truth in their statement. They didn't transmit back to China. They transmitted to local ISPs and the Internet relayed the information back to China. Carefully parsed words that attempt to convey information opposite of the truth without a direct lie. Exactly the same thing they have done with multiple other subjects.
As you have probably deduced, U.S. intelligence officials are the worst group of liars in the world. I say worst only because nobody believes anything communists say and there are still some people who believe things U.S. intelligence officials say.

 

[loneryder]

Anybody believes the IC, there are cheap waterfront lots in Az. for sale.

 

[dnewton3]

I believe that most sovereign state intelligence agencies are good at two things:
- collecting intel
- lying about the intel collected
Should this surprise anyone? I hope not.

I do hope that our agencies are better at both than the opposition; I want my team to win.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

I believe that most sovereign state intelligence agencies are good at two things:
- collecting intel
- lying about the intel collected
Should this surprise anyone? I hope not.

I do hope that our agencies are better at both than the opposition; I want my team to win.

The big problem I see with the U.S. intelligence community is when they venture into the domestic political realm, which they have done on a large scale. I wish they would follow the same rules that BITOG has and stay out of politics.

 

[Hall]

There is some degree of truth in their statement. They didn't transmit back to China. They transmitted to local ISPs and the Internet relayed the information back to China. Carefully parsed words that attempt to convey information opposite of the truth without a direct lie. Exactly the same thing they have done with multiple other subjects.

That's exactly how I read it as well. Choice of words is crucial. People can speculate or read between the lines or infer, but as that's written, it's "truthful".

 

[Rand]

That's exactly how I read it as well. Choice of words is crucial. People can speculate or read between the lines or infer, but as that's written, it's "truthful".

Not that there is truth in numbers, but that was "EXACTLY" how I read it too.

 

[gathermewool]

Anybody believes the IC, there are cheap waterfront lots in Az. for sale.

Roosevelt Lake? How much?

 

[JeffKeryk]

The big problem I see with the U.S. intelligence community is when they venture into the domestic political realm, which they have done on a large scale. I wish they would follow the same rules that BITOG has and stay out of politics.

Perhaps it's the other way around?

 

[4WD]

Anybody believes the IC, there are cheap oceanfront lots in Az. for sale.

Maybe ya meant this ^^^

 

[JHZR2]

Scary stuff but seems reasonable - latch onto whatever network and do what you need.

Not pleased this was done. Think about it next time anyone buys Chinese stuff to save a buck. This is what the money is financing.

 

[CKN]

Scary stuff but seems reasonable - latch onto whatever network and do what you need.

Not pleased this was done. Think about it next time anyone buys Chinese stuff to save a buck. This is what the money is financing.

You can be selective-but you can't avoid it. Things are made out of Chinese parts that you don't even know about. As a side note-this was a intelligence failure on our part, letting it "float around" for an extended period.

 

[JHZR2]

You can be selective-but you can't avoid it. Things are made out of Chinese parts that you don't even know about. As a side note-this was an intelligence failure on our part, letting it "float around" for an extended period.

That’s very true and not something that needs to be discussed more in this thread. Just food for thought as we learn about what it did, and who knows how many others…

 

[SC Maintenance]

We don't hear from intelligence officials. The ones we hear from are communications majors told to make up a story for public consumption. They likely have as much actual intel as we do.

US intelligence has exactly 1 job. To identify and asses threats to the United States and pass that information along. The decisions on what to do are made by others. There the best in the world.

I imagine they know exactly what said balloon was doing, likely at the time it was or was not doing it.

 

[supton]

Just what intel could it be picking up on? and for how long did they think it’d work, as it sticks out just a bit, pretty hard to hide. And whatever its gut may have had in it, had to be assumed to be analyzed, once taken down.

Have to say, in the cat and mouse game of espionage, it was a move out of the ordinary. Usually it’s cloak and dagger, here they tried something completely out in the open. Maybe that was the intent. A different tactic.

 

[KCJeep]

They found a weakness, can’t help but wonder how many times before it had gone completely unnoticed.

 

[SumGuy]

There was something called "Open Sky" or Skys between US and Russia that was cancelled (naturally) a few years ago. It allowed the US to fly a surveillance plane over Russia, and vice-versa, maybe once a year. I'd bet a hundred quatloos that there is or was such an agreement between the US and China, and that this balloon was part of it, and that's why it was allowed to fly / drift across the US unhindered until it went past the 12-mile offshore US boundary and then it's mission was accomplished and US shot it down.

Any agreement that allowed China to do this would be classified, and the US would have been allowed to do the same in China. China probably could not use a plane to do this, there's no way it could be kept secret esp. from US ATC centers. A balloon would be the only way. The bogus detection of several hobby balloons over Alaska / Canada and Lake Huron during this event was to provide cover and provide media diversion (look - more balloons!).

 

[dumkid]

Roosevelt Lake? How much?

No, painted rock reservoir

 

[Wrenchturner44]

This reminds me of the line in the movie The Hunt For Red October........"Central Intelligence Agency......now there is a contradiction in terms"!

 

[Astro14]

Three political posts = lock time.