Category: Foreign interference

Rise in Foreign Interference, Election Disinformation Among Top Concerns for Australian Police Chief

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is warning foreign interference and espionage is on the rise in the country’s ethnic communities and expressed concern that disinformation could impact Australia’s upcoming election. Reece Kershaw, AFP commissioner, outlined activities the law enforcement agency had undertaken over the past year in a hearing before the Senate Legal and Constitutional…


Australian Spy Agency Stops Election Interference Plot

Australia’s domestic spy agency, ASIO, has disrupted a plot by an unnamed foreign state-power to help friendly candidates get elected in this year’s federal elections. Director-General of ASIO Mike Burgess made the announcement in his Annual Threat Assessment speech on Feb. 9, saying the plot was an excellent example of what political interference “actually looks…


US Appoints New Intelligence Official to Counter Foreign Election Threats

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has appointed Jeffrey Winchman, a former CIA official, as the new election threats executive responsible for overseeing foreign interference to U.S. elections, according to a spokesperson from ODNI. ODNI spokesperson Nicole de Haay told The New York Times on Jan. 14 that ODNI Director of National Intelligence Avril D….


Canada’s Spy Agency Warns Parliamentarians of China’s Influence Operations

For the first time, Canada’s intelligence agency is briefing individual parliamentarians who could be targeted by the clandestine influence operations conducted by China and other authoritarian regimes. John Townsend, a spokesperson for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), told The Globe and Mail that the agency is increasingly alarmed by efforts by Beijing and its…


Ex-Canada Space Agency Engineer Charged With ‘Breach of Trust’ for Allegedly Working With Chinese Firm: RCMP

A former Canadian Space Agency (CSA) engineer has been charged with breach of trust for allegedly working on behalf of a Chinese aerospace company, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) says. Wanping Zheng, 61, was charged by a public officer on Dec. 7, after an investigation by the RCMP pointed to “illegal activities” carried out…


Australia Strengthens Its University Foreign Interference Guidelines

Australia has strengthened its university foreign interference guidelines to protect students, staff, and research by assisting the process of better identifying and responding to risks. Australia’s education institutions will be required to assess staff at risk of foreign interference. These identified individuals will be required to reveal any links to foreign governments, military, or intelligence…


Chinese Embassy Lodges Complaint Against Australian Parliament’s Chair of Intelligence and Security

The Chinese embassy in Canberra has lodged an official complaint with the Australian government in regards to a speech made by Liberal Senator James Paterson addressed to the European Parliament in regards to foreign interference. The embassy said Paterson, who is also the chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, displayed “bias…


‘Significant’ Security Concerns: Tory Candidate on Trudeau’s Book Deal With CCP-Controlled Publisher

The past publishing deal with a CCP-controlled company that printed Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s personal memoir in China raises concerns not only from an ethics perspective but also one of national security, a Tory candidate says. “We are very concerned about the fact that the Prime Minister of Canada would have a personal publishing deal…


Plans to Teach Academics and University Students to Identify Foreign Interference on Campus

Australian university staff and students will be taught how to recognise foreign interference threats on campus and report them to authorities under newly proposed rules. The changes have been put forward as part of the new foreign interference guidelines for universities. They are intended to strengthen their ability to counter influence from the Chinese Communist…


Plans to Teach Academics, Students to Identify Foreign Interference on Campus

Australian university staff and students will be taught how to recognise foreign interference threats on campus and report them to authorities under newly proposed rules. The changes have been put forward as part of the new foreign interference guidelines for universities. They are intended to strengthen their ability to counter influence from the Chinese Communist…