Case Blog

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT (BLUF): This intelligence report provides an operational assessment of a highly active, decade-long espionage conspiracy conducted by the People's Republic of China (PRC) Ministry of State Security (MSS) targeting United States national security interests from June 2015 through June 2025. Orchestrated by Chinese nationals Liren "Ryan" Lai and Yuance Chen, the network leveraged easily travelable civilian "co-optees" and U.S.-based couriers—most notably Che

This intelligence report outlines a highly coordinated, multi-year espionage operation conducted by Chinese military intelligence targeting sensitive South Korean and U.S. military secrets. It details the recruitment tactics, logistical timeline, and specialized tradecraft used by a Chinese academic-turned-operative to infiltrate South Korean defense circles before his ultimate detection, arrest, and prosecution. Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF) The Supreme Court of South Korea ha

Overview of the Case On October 20, 2022, a federal grand jury in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey returned a sealed indictment charging four Chinese nationals with conspiracy to act in the United States as illegal agents of a foreign government under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (18 U.S.C. § 371 / 18 U.S.C. § 951(a)). The were four primary defendants operating on behalf of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and its civilian intelligenc

Mirror Media Yang Yiming (楊藝明) was conducting covert influence operations against the Czech Republic and collecting against national politicians. He is the first person ever prosecuted under the Czech Republic’s new foreign‑interference statute (§318a, “unauthorized activity on behalf of a foreign power”). Between 2024 and 2026, Czech counterintelligence concluded that he operated in Prague as a covert asset of China’s Ministry of State Security while officially accredited a

John H. Rogers Overview of Economic Espionage Starting in 2013, John H. Rogers, PhD, became involved in a significant case of economic espionage. He responded to requests from China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) officers who posed as graduate students at Shandong University of Finance and Economics. His journey into espionage began at a conference in Shanghai. Rogers transmitted trade secrets from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (FRB) and the Federal Reserve Open

INTELLIGENCE DOSSIER: OPERATION KARMØY & THE ANDØY SPACEPORT INTERCEPT NET The Andøy and Otta espionage case involving Wei "William" Qiu and Karmøy Health Norway AS utilized a highly sophisticated, multi-layered array of espionage tradecraft designed to target critical space and telecommunications infrastructure in Norway. SECTION 1: THE TACTICAL PLOT & KEY LOCATIONS A. Operational Objective: Strategic Signal Interception In 2026, Wei "William" Qiu (43), a Singapore-registere

Facebook Photo Thomas Pauken II lived in the PRC for more than a decade. During that time, he was a journalist for China Radio International, China Global Television Network, and as of 2024, an editor for Xinhua News Agency. Pauken is married to Zhou Yawei, a Chinese national. They have a son. The Ministry of State Security recruited Pauken in 2019.[1] His primary MSS handler was Cathy. Cathy gave him taskings when he traveled back to the US, Pauken met with potential huma

Chinese Espionage in the Philippines In early March 2026, Philippine authorities announced the arrest of three Filipino nationals recruited by Chinese intelligence handler(s) to obtain and transmit sensitive defense information. The recruited agents provided details about Philippine military and coast guard operations in the South China Sea, including logistics for resupply missions to contested outposts. According to the Philippine National Security Council and the Armed

Preliminary Report: The Case of Christos Flessas Col Christos Flessas On February 5, 2026, Greek authorities arrested Christos Flessas, a 54-year-old senior colonel in the Hellenic Air Force, for allegedly spying for China. Flessas has an extensive background in military service. He held various positions, including Commander of a Telecommunications and RADAR Squadron and Head of Support. He also served as a contract implementation officer for missile systems. His experience

Economic espionage is a growing threat to organizations worldwide. It involves the theft of trade secrets, intellectual property, and sensitive information to gain a competitive advantage. The case of Linwei Ding offers valuable lessons on how these operations unfold and how organizations can defend themselves. In this post, I will share insights from this case and outline practical strategies to detect, counter, and prevent economic espionage. Understanding Economic Espionag

LinkedIn Overview of the Espionage Incident From 2022 to 2025, Michael Charles Schena conducted espionage against the United States on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security. Schena was a Foreign Affairs Officer with the US Department of State for nearly 19 years. He was not a diplomat but had multiple overseas trips working in US diplomatic missions for up to six months each. Prior to joining the State Department, he taught English in Shaoxing, China, for three months.

Chenguang Gong transferred more than 3,600 files from a Malibu defense firm (* HRL Laboratories ) on infrared sensor technology,...

Colin Cooke Photo July 9, 2025, Tanagra, Greece The 114th Combat Wing Air Force Police detained and questioned four Chinese nationals (A...

Philstar.com The Philippines National Investigation Bureau (NIB) arrested Chinese national Deng Yuanqing (39 yoa) in January 2025 for...

LinkedIn Photo Status: Guilty In May, 2026, in Arcadia, California, Mayor Eileen Wang agreed to a plea agreement for acting as an unregistered agent for the PRC's United Front Work Department. She was working with former lover and campaign manager Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, who was convicted of the same charges earlier in 2026 . The court sentenced Sun to four years in prison. In 2022, Sun was the campaign manager for Eileen Wang, who was running then to be a city Council M

Between 2013 and 2021, retired Taiwan Air Force Colonel Liu Shengshu ( 劉聖恕 ) recruited individuals working for, or retired from, Taiwan’s...

Corey Sipkin / AP Linda Sun was arrested in September 2024 for covert influence activities on behalf of the PRC. Sun is a naturalized...

Tang Yuanjun worked as an MSS asset between 2018 and 2023.

In March 2019, Dov Goldstein became the primary suspect in a high-profile investigation concerning an information leak. Goldstein, an...

The case of Shujun WANG is one of several that illustrate China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) using assets to collect information...