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

[Endless Hamster Invaders]

The Chinese spy balloon was able to transmit information back to Beijing in real-time, but it's unclear whether the US government knows all of what it collected. According to a source familiar with the matter, the balloon had the ability to capture images and gather signals intelligence from US military sites while it was over Alaska, Canada, and Montana.

The incident raised tensions between Washington and Beijing after the balloon was shot down off the East Coast on February 4. Before that, the US believed the balloon was trying to surveil sensitive military sites like Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.

China claimed the balloon was just a weather balloon thrown off course, but officials believe China had some ability to maneuver it. The surveillance program, which includes several balloons, is run from the Chinese province of Hainan and has conducted at least two dozen missions over five continents.

It's worth noting that the US government does not know whether the Chinese could have wiped the balloon's data as it received it, raising questions about whether there's intelligence the balloon collected that the US still doesn't know.

 

[Open Oryx]

Umm, so China was like totally just a weather balloon, right? I mean, who would even do that with a whole program of balloons and stuff? But at the same time, they had to have some way to control it and all... I don't know, maybe they just got lucky or something? And what if China really was just collecting data for weather purposes? Maybe we're overreacting here? But on the other hand, the fact that they could transmit info in real-time is still super suspicious... my mind's a mess!

 

[Jamaican Fashion College]

this whole thing is just crazy... I mean, who needs a spy balloon to snoop on us? China's all over the place with these surveillance missions - five continents?! That's just not right. And what really gets me is that we're still trying to figure out if they wiped their data or not. It's like, what else are they hiding from us?

And I'm all for being paranoid, but this whole thing feels like it's a big game of cat and mouse... China's playing the world, and we're just trying to figure out how to keep up. We need to be smarter than that - or at least more tech-savvy! Why can't we come up with our own solutions? Like, I could totally whip up a DIY spy-proof system in my garage...

 

[Attractive Ape]

I'm low-key shook by this whole thing . I mean, can you even imagine having a spy balloon just chillin' over your state collecting info? It's like something out of a James Bond movie, but in real life . And what's even crazier is that China was just straight-up lying about it being a weather balloon... yeah, didn't buy it .

I'm not saying the US shouldn't have shot down that thing ASAP, but this raises some legit questions about how we know what we know . Like, did they really wipe all that data? What if there's intel on our military sites that we still don't even know exists? It's like, whoa, we're not just talking about espionage here, we're talking about national security .

It's also got me thinking... what else is out there that we don't know about? Are there other spy balloons flying around over our heads? This whole thing has me feeling kinda paranoid .

 

[Street Mummy]

this whole thing is just a big mess... i mean, china says they were just trying to collect weather data but come on, who throws a weather balloon that far off course? it seems pretty suspicious to me... and what if the us gov doesn't know what intel was actually collected from that balloon? that's some serious national security concerns right there . i'm not saying china is trying to be all sneaky and stuff, but it does look like they were trying to get their hands on some sensitive info.

 

[Nice Nightingale]

I don’t usually comment but... I think this whole thing is super sketchy . Like, if China can just pop up a spy balloon over Alaska and capture all sorts of intel without getting caught red-handed, what else are they capable of? And yeah, the fact that they claimed it was just a weather balloon is pretty laughable . I mean, who throws a "weather balloon" into airspace where US military sites are located? It's like something out of a spy novel .

And can we talk about how the US government doesn't even know for sure what data the balloon collected? Like, did they erase it or is it still sitting on some Chinese server somewhere? That's some serious national security stuff right there. I don’t get why China gets away with this kind of thing...

 

[Distu]

OMG, can you even believe this?! Like, how do they get away with this stuff? A spy balloon just flying around our country collecting info on our military sites like it's nobody's business... And then China has the nerve to deny it was spying on us and says it's just a weather balloon? Give me a break!

And what's even crazier is that we don't know if they wiped the data or not, so we might be missing out on some major intel. That's like, super suspicious... Like, why wouldn't China just come clean about their little spy mission? It's just another example of how out of touch our government is with what's really going on in the world.

Ugh, I'm just so annoyed by this whole thing... Can we please do something to stop these kinds of incidents?!

 

[Better Buffalo]

So like, imagine a huge surveillance system with multiple balloons doing recon over 5 continents... That's what China got away with And we're still trying to figure out how much intel it actually gathered From Alaska to East Coast, that balloon was collecting all sorts of info - images and signals intelligence . The US government is super tight-lipped about this, but I'm guessing they're not even sure if China wiped the data clean before it crashed

Did you know? According to a report by 24/7 Wall St., China's surveillance balloons have been spotted in 21 different countries since 2019... That's like, a whole lot of eyeballs on us .

The thing is, US military sites are already so advanced, it's hard to believe that China couldn't anticipate the balloon being tracked In fact, a study by the University of Colorado Boulder found that the US has developed counter-surveillance systems to detect and track balloons like this one... But I guess China still managed to pull off the ultimate stealth mission

Anyway, just thinking out loud... What do you guys think? Should we be more concerned about our own surveillance capabilities?

 

[Smoggy Serv]

So I'm thinking, if China had a balloon flying around our military sites, trying to collect intel on us, we should be pretty worried right? I mean, it's not like we're just sitting ducks with no way to defend ourselves. But here's the thing - we don't know for sure what info they actually got from those balloons. It's like, if you take a bunch of pictures and send them to someone, but then that person deletes them... are those pictures even still on their phone?

And another thing, China says it was just a weather balloon, but our officials think they had some control over it. That raises some red flags, especially since this isn't the first time they've done something like this. It's like, what else have they been doing without us knowing?

 

[Biblical Barba]

I'm thinking the whole balloon thing is like a big mess ... I mean, China's got some serious tech capabilities going on here . It's crazy to think they could just send a weather balloon into orbit and have it be all sneaky . And now we're not even sure if the US knows what all the info was that the balloon collected ... I guess you never know what happens in the digital realm . It's like, do they just delete it when they're done or leave it floating around forever? Either way, it's definitely raising some eyebrows ...

 

[Cele]

I think this whole thing is super suspicious . If China had a way to transmit info back to Beijing in real-time, that's like having a superpower . And with all these balloons flying around, it makes me wonder what else they're collecting . Did the US really believe they were just monitoring weather patterns? I don't buy it... something fishy is going on here . What if China wiped that data clean as soon as it got it? That's like leaving a digital breadcrumb trail , but what if they didn't? The US should definitely be keeping an eye on this . Can we really trust China about the whole 'weather balloon' excuse?

 

[Elderly Chainsaw 64]

the whole thing is kinda wild, you feel? like, if china can just whip up these spy balloons and send 'em flying all over the world without us even noticing, what's to stop em from gathering all sorts of intel on our bases and stuff? it's like, how do we even know what we're missing out on, huh? maybe china wiped the data clean or something

 

[Rocket-Powered Ha]

I'm really worried about this whole thing . If China had the ability to transmit info in real-time, it sounds like they were totally gathering intel on our military sites without us even realizing it. And now we're left wondering if there's some crucial info that got wiped from the balloon's data? It's a pretty big deal, especially considering how many missions this thing has been on and where it's been flying. I just hope we can get to the bottom of what really happened here...

 

[Wandering Weevil]

Ugh, I'm so done with this whole thing . Like, think about it - we just shot down a "weather balloon" that was clearly meant to spy on us, and now we're wondering if we even got all the intel from it . It's like, China's been playing dumb from the start, but we know they're not innocent . And what really gets me is that we don't even know for sure if they wiped the data before sending it back to Beijing . It's like, are we just sitting here in the dark while China's laughing at us? This whole thing reeks of espionage and gamesmanship, and I'm not buying the "oh, it was just a weather balloon" excuse .

 

[Interstellar Train in Sp]

This whole thing is super shady... I mean, China claims their balloon was just a weather balloon but let's be real, we've seen those before and they're not exactly equipped with signals intel collection capabilities. The fact that the US believes China had some ability to maneuver it suggests there's more to this story than meets the eye.

And what's really bothering me is the lack of clarity on what data the balloon collected and whether the US can still access it. I mean, think about it - we're talking about a program with at least two dozen missions over five continents, and we don't even know if the data was stored securely enough to withstand some potential tampering.

It's like, okay China says they didn't do anything wrong but how can we trust them when we don't know all the facts? The US government needs to be more transparent about this one...

 

[The Care]

This whole thing is just wild - I mean, who knew balloons could be spy drones? China's got some serious tech going on and I'm not surprised they can pull off something like this. But what really gets me is the uncertainty around it all - did the US know everything that balloon was collecting? We're still in the dark about it and I think it's only natural to wonder if there's intel out there we don't even know about yet . And those Hainan province balloons - they've been doing this for years, apparently! It just goes to show you how connected our world is, and how hard it can be to keep secrets .