MI6 chief echoes concerns over Chinese tech

Source: Vsoft, 12/12/2018

In a rare speech, the head of MI6 said the UK needs to decide how
comfortable it is `with Chinese ownership of these technologies`.
It`s only the second public talk Younger has given during his four
years in charge at MI6 and was made during his return to St.
Andrew`s University, where he had previously studied.
The main reason for the speech was to inspire students to consider
a career with the British secret service. As part of his talk,
Younger spoke about his journey from the university to becoming a
spy to being made the chief of MI6 and the `hybrid threat` the UK
deals with.
In what could be an extract from a James Bond film, Younger spoke
about his first mission with the organisation in the mid-90s,
penetrating an organisation which was `intent on genocide` in the
Western Balkans. Younger acknowledged that operations were largely
conducted by individuals in those days, as the story of his first
mission suggested.
`We now operate dynamic teams that draw on skills and knowledge
across the whole of SIS: bringing together the formidable talents
of our agent recruiters and runners, our analysts, our subject
matter experts, our linguists, our data scientists and our
technical and engineering officers - known to the public as Q
branch,` he said.
`Alongside our core mission of revealing the intentions of
adversaries and giving the UK government strategic advantage
overseas, our task now is to master covert action in the data
age.`
Younger said that the world was in the early stages of a fourth
industrial revolution that will `further blur the lines between
the physical, the digital and biological realms`. He cited
technology such as bulk data, modern analytics and machine
learning as being a golden opportunity for society at large,
including for MI6 as an organisation, but the opportunity could be
exploited.
`I have also witnessed the damage new technologies can do in the
hands of a skilled opponent unrestrained by any notion of law or
morality, as well as the potentially existential challenge the
data age poses to the traditional operating methods of a secret
intelligence agency,` he said.
`We and our allies face a battle to make sure technology works to
our advantage, not to that of our opponents. Liberal democracies
should approach this with confidence, as the originators of this
technology.`
Younger was asked about the role of China in building new 5G
communications networks after concerns were raised that the
country`s infrastructure could open the way for some kind of
espionage or even sabotage.
New Zealand recently announced it would not allow Chinese firm
Huawei to be involved in the country`s tech landscape, which falls
in line with the US, who has allegedly asked allies to ditch the
Chinese telecoms giant.
Huawei has been involved in previous UK communications
infrastructure projects, which Younger expressed some concern
about.
`We have got some decisions to take here,` he said. `We need to
decide the extent to which we are going to be comfortable with
Chinese ownership of these technologies and these platforms in an
environment where some of our allies have taken a quite definite
position.
`We need to have a conversation. It`s not wholly straightforward.`