How Silicon Valley Became A Den Of Spies

We looked at the Russian Consulate in conclusion Dec (link below) but correct straight off i of the to a greater extent than interesting bits o'espionage going on is the Chinese thirst for GE's together with Westinghouse's nuclear secrets.
Here's closed to proficient open-source background on both country's efforts from Politico, July 27:

The West Coast is a growing target of unusual espionage. And it’s non develop to struggle back.

SAN FRANCISCO—In the autumn of 1989, during the Cold War’s wan together with washed-out concluding months, the Berlin Wall was crumbling—and thence was San Francisco. The powerful Loma Prieta earthquake, the most destructive to hitting the part inwards to a greater extent than than lxxx years, felled entire storey buildings. Freeway overpasses shuddered together with collapsed, swallowing cars similar a sandpit. Sixty-three people were killed together with thousands injured. And local Soviet spies, merely similar many other denizens of the Bay Area, applied for their part of the nearly $3.5 billion inwards relief funds allocated yesteryear President George H.W. Bush.

FBI counterintelligence saw an opening, recalled Rick Smith, who worked on the Bureau’s San Francisco-based Soviet squad from 1972 to 1992. When they discovered that a known Soviet spy, operating nether diplomatic cover, had filed a claim, Smith together with several other bureau officials posed every bit federal employees disbursing relief funds to regard amongst the spy. The destination was to compromise him amongst repeated payments, together with thence to plow him. “We tin offering your total claim,” Smith told the man. “Come regard us again.” He agreed.

But the minute time, the suspected intel officeholder wasn’t alone. FBI surveillance teams reported that he was existence accompanied yesteryear a Russian diplomat known to the FBI every bit the caput of Soviet counterintelligence inwards San Francisco. The operation, Smith knew, was over—the presence of the Soviet spy boss meant that the FBI’s target had reported the coming together to his superiors—but they had to larn through amongst the coming together anyway. The 2 Soviet intelligence operatives walked into the role room. The undercover FBI agents, who knew the whole affair had turned farcical, greeted the Soviet counterintelligence chief.
“What,” he replied, “You didn’t facial expression me to come?”

We tend to think of espionage inwards the the States every bit an East Coast phenomenon: shadowy unusual spies working out of embassies inwards Washington, or at missions to the UN inwards New York; dead drops inwards suburban Virginia woodlands, together with surreptitious meetings on common benches inwards Manhattan’s grayness dusk.

But unusual spies receive got been showing upward uninvited to San Francisco together with Silicon Valley for a really long time. According to erstwhile U.S. intelligence officials, that’s truthful today to a greater extent than than ever. In fact, they warn—especially because of increasing Russian together with Chinese aggressiveness, together with the local concentration of world-leading scientific discipline together with applied scientific discipline firms—there’s a full-on epidemic of espionage on the West Coast correct now. And fifty-fifty to a greater extent than worrisome, many of its targets are unprepared to bargain amongst the growing threat.

Unlike on the East Coast, unusual intel operations hither aren’t every bit focused on the hunt for diplomatic secrets, political intelligence or state of war plans. The open, experimental, cosmopolitan operate together with concern civilization of Silicon Valley inwards detail has encouraged a newer, “softer,” “nontraditional” type of espionage, said erstwhile intelligence officials—efforts that generally target merchandise secrets together with technology. “It’s a really subtle cast of intelligence collection that is to a greater extent than concern connected together with oriented,” i told me. But this economical espionage is also ubiquitous. Spies “are really much constituent of the everyday environment” here, said this person. Another erstwhile intelligence official told me that, at i indicate recently, a total xx percentage of all the FBI’s active counterintelligence-related intellectual belongings cases had originated inwards the Bay Area. (The FBI declined to comment for this story.)

Political espionage happens here, too. China, for example, is sure enough out to pocket U.S. applied scientific discipline secrets, noted erstwhile intelligence officials, but it also is heavily invested inwards traditional political intelligence gathering, influence together with perception-management operations inwards California. Former intelligence officials told me that Chinese intelligence i time recruited a staff fellow member at a California role of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, together with the source reported dorsum to Red People's Republic of China most local politics. (A spokesperson for Feinstein said the role doesn’t comment on personnel matters or investigations, but noted that no Feinstein staffer inwards California has e'er had a safety clearance.) At the Aspen Security Forum in conclusion week, FBI manager Chris Wray acknowledged the threat Chinese spying inwards detail poses, saying, “China from a counterintelligence perspective represents the broadest, most pervasive, most threatening challenge nosotros confront every bit a country.”

Making it fifty-fifty to a greater extent than complicated, said multiple erstwhile U.S. intel officials, many unusual intel “collectors” inwards the Bay Area are non spies inwards the traditional feel of the term. They aren’t based out of embassies or consulates, together with may hold upward associated amongst a state-owned concern or inquiry constitute rather than an intelligence agency. Chinese officials, inwards particular, ofttimes cajole or outright threaten Chinese nationals (or U.S. citizens amongst identify unit of measurement members inwards China) working or studying locally to render them amongst valuable technological information.

“You larn into situations where you lot receive got actually good, actually bright, conscientious people, twisted yesteryear their domicile government,” said a main safety officeholder at a major cloud storage companionship that maintains sensitive authorities contracts. U.S.-based Chinese employees of this companionship receive got had Chinese authorities officials elbow grease to “leverage” these individuals’ identify unit of measurement members inwards China, this someone told me. The companionship straight off requires employees working on sure projects to hold upward U.S. citizens.

As Silicon Valley continues to receive got over the world, the local spy state of war volition only larn hotter—and the consequences volition resonate far beyond Northern California.

And yet, it’s non clear that the Bay Area—historically famous for its liberalism, together with straight off infamous for its madcap capitalism—is prepared to grip this escalation together with these novel tactics. Tech firms, particularly start-ups, lack incentives to written report potential espionage to U.S. officials; together with businesses together with universities are ofttimes ignorant most the espionage threat, or thence attuned to local political sensitivities they may fright existence defendant of stereotyping if they elbow grease to constitute to a greater extent than stringent defensive safety together with screening measures....The Secret History of the Russian Consulate In San Francisco".

We used that ship every bit a roll for a twain before stories:
October 29
"Twitter’s multi-million dollar U.S. election pitch to RT revealed inwards FULL" 

And:
September 13
Russians RETALIATE For San Francisco Consulate Closure
They receive got a really deep agreement of the Amerikanskiy psyche....  

....And how did the Russkies retaliate for the closing of their San Francisco consulate amongst the beautiful view?

From the Associated Press:

Russia reduces parking spaces at U.S. consulates 

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian Federation has withdrawn parking privileges for U.S. diplomats, an apparent continuation of a diplomatic tit-for-tat betwixt Washington together with Moscow.

State-owned goggle box channel Rossiya 24 reported on Midweek that parking spaces exterior the U.S. consulate inwards Petrograd had been painted over amongst a pedestrian crossing, together with special parking signs had been removed exterior the U.S. consulate inwards Yekaterinburg, close the Ural Mountains.

Diplomatic tensions betwixt the U.S. together with Russian Federation are at their lowest degree since the Cold War...MORE

Yeah, they sympathize Americans.