China warns of cyber espionage threat from foreign spy agencies using idle network devices

China’s anti-espionage agency has cautioned the public that foreign spy agencies have been using idle or discarded network devices belonging to Chinese firms, including servers and cameras, to launch cyberattacks and steal China’s national secrets.

The Ministry of State Security (MSS), posting on the Chinese messaging app WeChat on Friday, said it has noticed the trend in recent years and cited a case where a foreign spy agency had taken control of a Chinese firm’s server that remained in the company’s computer room even though it was no longer in use.