From marriage ceremony photographers to farm devices, Chinese marketing campaign warns of spy dangers

The National Administration of State Secrets Protection warned of overseas spies’ “eyes in the dark” in its newest anti-espionage documentary aired on CCTV nationwide tv on Tuesday.

“In real life, the methods, tools, covertness and scope of espionage employed by foreign intelligence agencies [against China] far exceed what most people can imagine,” mentioned the primary episode of the administration’s five-part documentary named “On your guard: be vigilant against the risks of leaks around us”.

The CCTV broadcast mentioned overseas spy companies have been working below a wide range of covers, acknowledging that China confronted higher challenges in defending its secrets and techniques amid the fast development of know-how innovation.

It cited a case of a sea cucumber farmer within the northeastern port of Dalian surnamed Zhang who was approached by a overseas intelligence company disguised as an NGO who supplied him “seawater quality monitoring equipment for free”.

The programme mentioned it was later found that the gear contained a 360-degree digital camera that repeatedly monitored army exercise and maritime visitors in close by coastal areas, with the information despatched to overseas intelligence companies.

Dalian is a strategic hub for the Chinese navy, supporting a variety of operations, from shipbuilding and plane service development to submarine and air power deployments.

“What appeared to be a benevolent act of technical assistance was in reality a meticulously planned spying operation targeting sensitive areas of China. And this was just the tip of the iceberg of the many disguised forms of surveillance,” the documentary mentioned.