China Investing in Open-Source Intelligence Collection on the U.S.

As the relationship between the United States and China has become more adversarial, both countries are investing more in their intelligence collection capabilities.

With Beijing’s investments in big data management, mining publicly available sources of information could give China an advantage in collecting intelligence on the United States and its allies.

While autocratic countries like China hide information about their military, the United States — as a democracy that tries to be responsive to its public — puts out a plethora of information about its military capabilities, doctrine and planning.

China can mine that information, looking for material it can use to its own military advantages. For example, the report details some of the work one prominent Chinese open-source intelligence company has done to analyze publicly available insights from the Office of Net Assessment, the Pentagon’s in-house think tank. Recorded Future also outlined how China has tried to gather information put out by the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.

“The U.S. Naval War College has a China Maritime Studies Institute, and it produces a lot of open-source research on China,” said Zoe Haver, a threat intelligence analyst with Recorded Future. “This is done in an academic setting, but ultimately foreign governments consider this valuable intelligence.”

Military officials did not immediately comment on the report’s findings.

China’s secret intelligence-gathering abilities have grown in leaps and bounds in recent decades, and Beijing’s investment in open-source information has intensified over the last decade.

The definition of open-source intelligence is broad, but Recorded Future looked at information that the intelligence agencies of China’s People’s Liberation Army were using to help them make plans and develop the military.

Recorded Future has examined contracts that the army has issued to private Chinese companies to gather a range of open-source information, including material about the U.S. military and its work on the defense of Taiwan.

“The P.L.A. very much assumes the United States will in some form intervene in a Taiwan conflict, and they work very hard to prepare for that type of scenario,” Ms. Haver said.

Much of what Beijing is mining from open-source data may well be available in one Chinese spy agency or another. But China’s intelligence agencies are walled off from one another and do not share information, according to Recorded Future’s analysts. And it may be easier for parts of the P.L.A.’s intelligence arms to develop open-source information about American capabilities than to request classified information from a sister spy agency.

Recorded Future acknowledges there are security concerns given the information the United States and its allies make public, but cutting off broad access to the data may not be the answer.

Instead, Ms. Haver said Recorded Future hoped awareness of Chinese open-source intelligence gathering would help private-sector companies, the military and other government agencies better manage that risk and make it harder for automatic web crawlers to scrape information from public databases or websites. She also encouraged private companies to conduct due diligence about Chinese firms trying to purchase access to their information.

“At the end of the day, we don’t expect Western countries to close off their information environments,” Ms. Haver said. “That would not even be a good thing. We value openness.”

How Facebook secretly collects your information even if you haven't signed up

You may have managed to go all this time without ever making any kind of social media account. However, Facebook could potentially still have your information even if you've never set up an account. Find out why this is possible and how you can protect your information. 

Whether you deleted your Facebook account years ago or you never made an account at all, it's possible that Facebook could still have your email address cell phone number or landline number. The reason for this is because of hidden accounts called Shadow Profiles. These profiles are created based on data gathered from various sources, such as contacts uploaded by Facebook users, websites with Facebook tracking pixels, and other third-party data providers. 

So, even if people you're friends with shared their own contact information on Facebook, Instagram, or Messenger, and you were in their address book, Meta, the parent company of these apps, likely has your information.   

Facebook's algorithms use this information to create a profile for non-users, which may include details like the person's name, email address, phone number and other personal data. These profiles are created without the knowledge or consent of the individuals involved.  We reached out to Facebook's parent company Meta for additional information and to offer the social media platform an opportunity to comment on this report and have not heard back from them at the time of publishing. 

Here's what to know about how Facebook collects your personal information. (CyberGuy.com)

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Facebook's privacy policy explains in great detail what they do with the information they receive. According to its website, there are three main ways in which they use the information they get from other websites and apps: 

The company emphasizes that they don’t sell people’s data. Even so, shadow profiles have been a subject of controversy and criticism due to privacy concerns. Critics argue that the creation of shadow profiles raises ethical questions regarding user consent and control over personal information. However, it is possible to have yourself removed from its databases. 

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD ON FACEBOOK  

Select the type of information you want to remove. Choose from a mobile number, landline, or email address, then hit Next. 

IS FACEBOOK LISTENING TO YOU? 

Once you have turned off this setting, Facebook will no longer upload your contacts to the app. Keep in mind that if you previously allowed Facebook to upload your contacts, you may need to delete your previously uploaded contacts manually. 

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Knowing how Facebook collects and utilizes personal information is important, even if you have never used the platform. Be aware that they can create hidden accounts called Shadow Profiles, which are generated using data from various sources. While Facebook claims this data is used to improve and protect user experience, creating shadow profiles raises concerns about privacy and consent. By following the steps I’m providing, you can take control of your information and minimize your exposure to potential privacy risks. 

Should Facebook be allowed to collect your personal data without asking you directly? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact. 

For more of my tips, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to CyberGuy.com/Newsletter. 

Copyright 2023 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. 

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Investigators have recording of Trump acknowledging he held onto sensitive document: Sources

Federal investigators have in their possession an audio recording of former President Donald Trump from July 2021, on which he acknowledges he held onto a sensitive military document after leaving office, sources confirm to ABC News.

The recording was made during a meeting at Trump's Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, that Trump held with people who were helping former chief of staff Mark Meadows with his memoir, according to sources.

Trump indicated during the recording that he knew the document in question was secret, the sources said.

Meadows was not present for the meeting, the sources said, but other Trump aides, including Margot Martin, were there.

Special counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating Trump's handling of classified documents after leaving office, has questioned witnesses about the recording, sources familiar with the matter said.

The special counsel's office declined to comment to ABC News.

A Trump spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News, "Leaks from radical partisans behind this political persecution are designed to inflame tensions and continue the media's harassment of President Trump and his supporters. It's just more proof that when it comes to President Trump, there are absolutely no depths to which they will not sink as they pursue their witch hunts."

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One before departing Harlingen, Texas.

Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

"The DOJ's continued interference in the presidential election is shameful and this meritless investigation should cease wasting the American taxpayer's money on Democrat political objectives," the Trump spokesperson said.

News of the recoding was first reported by CNN.

On the recording, which ABC News has not listened to nor obtained, Trump is heard attacking Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and referencing one document in particular that Trump claimed Milley had compiled, according to sources. Trump, who said on the recording that he still had the document in his possession, said the document was about attacking Iran, sources said.

The specific nature of the document described in the recording is not known.

The July 2021 conversation took place several months before representatives for Trump handed over to the National Archives 15 boxes of presidential records that included documents with classified markings, and more than a year before Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate was searched by the FBI last August.

During the August search investigators uncovered more than 100 classified documents after Trump's team failed to comply with a June 2022 subpoena seeking all such records that remained in his possession.

It's unclear whether the document allegedly referenced in the recording was among those documents initially handed over to the Archives or those seized by the FBI in the August 2022 search.