U.S. intelligence officials determined the Chinese spy balloon used a U.S. internet provider to communicate
Source: NBC News
Dec. 28, 2023, 6:22 PM EST
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 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.
Such a court order would have allowed U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct electronic surveillance on the balloon as it flew over the U.S and as it sent and received messages to and from China, the officials said, including communications sent via the American internet service provider.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/us-intelligence-officials-determined-chinese-spy-balloon-used-us-inter-rcna131150
OAITW r.2.0
(25,213 posts){Sorry, if it sounds a little porny.}
BumRushDaShow
(131,804 posts)considering they jumped on one of our pipes and used it to communicate. That seems to suggest more hardening of our network infrastructure is in order.
Kennah
(14,407 posts)Prairie Gates
(1,258 posts)LiberalFighter
(52,135 posts)jmowreader
(50,709 posts)They subscribed to an ISP and a cell phone company through a sleeper agent living in one of the big Chinese diaspora - think San Francisco, Seattle, New York or Boston - and linked into the US internet system through a cell phone with a linear amplifier on it mounted on the balloon. All that can be set up online; you don't even have to go to a store to sign up for Internet or cell phone service in the US.
tonekat
(1,851 posts)that the Chinese balloon was a nothing burger. I think it was a pretty reputable source, maybe MSM?
Lotta gaslighting about this.
machoneman
(4,046 posts)...spy satellites would give them all the optical and telemetric data they would need.