China has spies across US universities – FBI chief

Chinese intelligence operatives are littered across United States universities, possibly to obtain information in fields like technology, and universities have little understanding of this major predicament, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray said last week, writes Greg Price for Newsweek.

Speaking before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Wray warned about possible operatives at the nation’s highest learning centres who occupy various positions like “professors, scientists [and] students”, according to McClatchy DC news service. The vast network of Chinese operatives, Wray said, requires participation from each of the FBI’s field offices around the country.

Wray said the FBI is monitoring academies within universities that are sponsored by the Chinese government. Though, he said, such institutions seem unaware of who could be spying on their campuses. “I think the level of naiveté on the part of the academic sector about this creates its own issues,” he said. “They’re exploiting the very open research and development environment that we have, which we all revere. But they’re taking advantage of it.”
Full report on the Newsweek site