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China’s top spy agency has warned that foreign agents could use flaws in the country’s massive camera surveillance network to steal state secrets.
The warning, posted on the WeChat account of the Ministry of State Security (MSS) on Sunday, came after a citizen from an unnamed city reported to the agency that video surveillance cameras being used to monitor urban drainage and flood prevention could pose a national security risk because the cameras included views of a coastguard pier.
The cameras are intended to provide real-time water-flow monitoring of the city’s older urban areas, according to the report.
An investigation by the agency revealed that the cameras showed “multiple key sensitive sites involving classified information”, according to the WeChat post.
The probe also revealed poor management of the surveillance system’s data-monitoring devices and servers, which the MSS said “created a significant risk that, in the event of a cyberattack, could leak classified information”.
The system has since been secured and the cameras readjusted, the agency said.