Chinese spy balloon was able to transmit information back to Beijing | CNN Politics

[Powerful Puffi]

The Chinese spy balloon that entered US airspace in January and was eventually shot down by the US military was capable of transmitting information back to Beijing, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The balloon collected imagery and signals intelligence from US military sites, including sensitive locations such as Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.

While the US government still does not know for certain whether China wiped the data from the balloon's memory as it was transmitted back to Beijing, officials have expressed confidence that they will be able to determine this after analyzing the wreckage of the balloon. However, some experts have questioned whether the information gathered by the balloon is significant enough to provide new insights to the Chinese government.

The US intelligence community has been monitoring China's surveillance program, which includes a fleet of balloons operating across the globe, including at least five continents in recent years. The program, reportedly run out of the small Chinese province of Hainan, has conducted at least two dozen missions, with roughly half a dozen flights entering US airspace.

The US was able to protect sensitive sites and censor some signals before the balloon could collect them, officials said. However, China has denied that the balloon was intentionally maneuvered into US airspace, claiming it was just a weather balloon thrown off course.

Despite this, Chinese officials appear to have taken advantage of their position over Montana to loiter over sensitive sites and try to collect intelligence. The incident further escalated tensions between Washington and Beijing, including the postponement of a diplomatic visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China.

 

[Pea]

I'm not sure how much info was actually collected from that balloon . I mean, we already know China has been using these surveillance balloons for years, so what's new? The fact that it managed to sniff out some US military sites is pretty concerning, but is it really worth getting all worked up about?

I do think the whole thing just adds to the tension between the two countries and makes a diplomatic visit even more challenging . And let's be real, China's not exactly playing innocent here either - they're trying to spin this as if the balloon was just an accident .

But at the end of the day, it's all about how we respond to these kinds of incidents and what kind of actions we take . Do we keep pushing back against China's surveillance program or do we try to find ways to coexist? It's a tricky balance to strike .

 

[Kermit's Writing]

the whole thing is super suspicious china's story doesn't add up... they claim it was just a weather balloon but how likely is that when they had all this surveillance gear on board? and what if they wiped the data from the memory before sending it back to beijing? we should be keeping an eye out for more of these kinds of ops, especially with china's already vast network of spies . maybe we need to rethink our own surveillance protocols too, just in case

 

[Alive Armadillo]

Ugh, can't believe this ! I mean, China thought they could just float their spy balloon over here and collect some secrets without anyone noticing? Like, how easy is that?! And now the data's been transmitted back to Beijing... what's next?! It's not like we don't have enough security measures in place already. This is just ridiculous. I'm starting to think China thinks they can just fly under the radar (pun intended) and get away with it. And now our Secretary of State has to cancel his trip because of this? It's a total overreaction if you ask me . What are we even going to do about it?!

 

[Interstellar Train in Sp]

I'm low-key freaked out about this Chinese spy balloon thing... I mean, what if they wiped that data clean as soon as it went back to Beijing? We'll never know for sure . And can we really trust them not to use the intel from Malmstrom Air Force Base? It's a security nightmare, imo. I'm also wondering how many other sensitive sites got scanned while that balloon was hovering around. This is just another example of China trying to flex its muscles, and it's only gonna escalate tensions...

 

[Stylish M]

So this thing was basically like a super advanced spy drone flying around collecting top secret info from our military bases in Montana. I mean, come on! China's been running these surveillance balloons all over the place and we only found out about them because one got shot down . It's crazy to think that they might be able to wipe the data clean but it sounds like our tech is good enough to figure out what happened.

I don't know if this whole thing is a big deal or not, I mean, China's already been doing this sort of thing for years. But at the same time, it is a bit concerning that they can just fly around our airspace and collect intel without anyone even noticing . The fact that our officials are saying we might be able to protect sensitive sites better next time around is reassuring but it's also clear that we need to up our game against China's surveillance program.

It's all pretty weird because on the one hand, China's trying to play dumb about the whole thing, saying it was just a weather balloon . But at the same time, they're not denying that they were collecting intel. It's like they're trying to have it both ways.