Recent investigations have unveiled significant connections between the Beijing Institute of Electronics Technology and Application (BIETA) and China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS). Evidence indicates that at least four BIETA personnel—Wu Shizhong, He Dequan, You Xingang, and Zhou Linna—have direct or potential ties to MSS officers. Additionally, BIETA’s association with the University of International Relations, an institution known for its links to the MSS, further substantiates these claims.
BIETA, along with its subsidiary Beijing Sanxin Times Technology Co., Ltd. (CIII), is involved in the research, development, importation, and sale of technologies that are believed to support intelligence, counterintelligence, military, and other missions pertinent to China’s national development and security. Their activities encompass:
– Steganography Research: BIETA focuses on developing methods of steganography, a technique for concealing information within other non-secret data. This research likely supports covert communications and malware deployment.
– Forensic and Counterintelligence Equipment: The firms develop and market tools designed for forensic investigations and counterintelligence operations.
– Acquisition of Foreign Technologies: BIETA and CIII actively seek foreign technologies related to steganography, network penetration testing, and military communications and planning.
Established in 1983, BIETA describes itself as a research and development institution specializing in communication technology, multimedia information processing, multimedia information security, computer and network technology application research, and special circuit development.
CIII has developed various applications, including tools for uploading files to Baidu Cloud and OneDrive, communication platforms, and network simulation and penetration testing tools targeting websites, mobile apps, enterprise systems, servers, databases, cloud platforms, and Internet of Things devices.
In November 2021, CIII introduced the Intelligent Discussion Android App and a cell phone positioning system capable of identifying, monitoring, positioning, and blocking mobile phones within large venues. This system can also harvest text messages and calls from controlled phones.
Other solutions offered by CIII include communication simulation tools, network functionality testing tools, and Datacrypt Hummingbird online storage upload software.
Both BIETA and CIII are believed to be part of a network of front organizations contributing to the development of tools that facilitate cyber-enabled intelligence operations by China’s intelligence apparatus and its proxies.
BIETA’s research is likely utilized to create technologies that support the MSS’s mission. The MSS then disseminates these capabilities to subordinate state security departments, bureaus, and officers, who, in turn, provide them to their contractors or proxies.
This disclosure follows a recent revelation by cybersecurity company Spur, which uncovered a Chinese proxy and VPN service called WgetCloud (formerly GaCloud). This service has been used in cyber campaigns allegedly orchestrated by a North Korean threat actor known as Kimsuky.
