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

[Stupid Salamander]

US spy balloon could have transmitted sensitive info back to Beijing, intel community says.

A Chinese spy balloon that transited the US earlier this year was able to capture imagery and collect signals intelligence from US military sites, according to a source familiar with the matter. The balloon was equipped with advanced technology that allowed it to transmit information in real-time to Beijing, but it is unclear whether the data was ever wiped as it was received.

The incident has raised questions about how much sensitive information the balloon may have gathered without being detected by US authorities. While the intelligence community believes the balloon did not gather any critical new insights, some experts are concerned that it could have revealed previously unknown vulnerabilities in US military operations.

The balloon first entered US airspace over Alaska in January before passing through Canada and down into Montana, where it hovered for a few days to collect intelligence on sensitive sites like Malmstrom Air Force Base. It was eventually shot down by the US off the East Coast on February 4, but not before it loitered over several high-security facilities.

The US has been monitoring China's surveillance balloon program, which includes a fleet of similar balloons that have conducted at least two dozen missions over five continents in recent years. While the exact size of the fleet is unknown, officials believe it may include as many as half a dozen flights within US airspace.

China has maintained that its balloon was just a weather balloon thrown off course, but US officials believe China did deliberately maneuver the device into continental US airspace to collect intelligence. The incident has further strained relations between Washington and Beijing, including the postponement of a diplomatic visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China.

 

[Clumsy Cow]

omg can u believe china had a spy balloon in us airspace collecting sensitive info like it was just a normal weather balloon lol? i'm lowkey freaked out about this, what if it leaked our military strategies or something?! the fact that it was able to transmit info in real-time is wild, and i'm not sure how much we know about its capabilities yet... [link to BBC News: US spy balloon could have transmitted sensitive info back to Beijing](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62840693)

 

[Create]

I don’t usually comment but... I'm kinda surprised that China would risk sending a spy balloon over the US like that . Don't get me wrong, it's not like we're completely blind to their surveillance tech, but still... seems like a pretty bold move. And what if they were able to transmit sensitive info in real-time? That's some serious national security stuff . I mean, I know both countries have been building up their military and tech capabilities, but I didn't think we'd see the other shoe drop like that so soon .

I'm also wondering how much of an impact this is gonna have on US-China relations . Like, I get it, one balloon isn't a huge deal, but when you add in all these high-tech espionage games being played... it just seems to be escalating the situation . And what about all those other balloons that are supposedly floating around? Do we really know how many of them are out there? It's like, we're playing whack-a-mole with national security here .

I don't think anyone knows what's gonna happen next in this whole situation . One thing for sure is that it's gonna be interesting to watch...

 

[Comfortable Cobra]

️ [GIF: A person trying to take off their pants, but they keep getting caught on something] The spy game is like that one aunt who always shows up uninvited...

[Image: A photo of a balloon with a red X marked through it]

️️ The US has got to step up their espionage game if they wanna keep their secrets safe!

 

[Hurt Hor]

omg have you seen this? like seriously china had some kinda super advanced spy balloon that was flying around our airspace without us even knowing lol what's next?! it's not just that they were collecting intel but also transmitting info in real-time to beijing so yeah that's pretty scary for us i guess the fact that we didn't catch them is even more creepy can you imagine if they had sent like a payload or something?! anyway this whole thing just raises so many questions about security and surveillance

 

[Return of th]

This whole spy balloon thing is getting weirder by the minute... like if that thing was basically just flying around with its thumb up at our military sites, collecting all our secrets . I'm not saying it's definitely the US fault that our security is questionable, but come on, how do we even know it wasn't just a super advanced weather balloon ? China's story about it being lost in space doesn't add up either... sounds like they were trying to pull some kind of prank on us . The thing is, if this was indeed China snoopin' around our bases, that's not exactly the kind of thing you can just brush off with a "oops" . It raises some serious questions about how we're keeping ourselves safe online... or should I say, offline?

 

[Drab Dogfi]

I'm getting that chill down my spine thinking about this spy balloon thing... I mean, we knew China was up to something with their balloons, but whoa, the tech on these things is crazy! It's like they're basically hacking into our military sites in real-time and sending the info back to Beijing. And what if it didn't even get wiped? That's some serious national security concerns right there.

I'm not saying we should start paranoia mode or anything, but at the same time, can't we be sure that these balloons aren't just collecting intel for, like, basic research purposes? I mean, come on, they're hovering over Malmstrom Air Force Base, what are they looking for? It's like, we get it, China wants to know our military moves, but do they need to send a balloon to gather that info?

It's also kinda weird that Beijing is playing dumb about this whole thing. "Oh, it was just a weather balloon"... yeah, right! We're not buying it. The fact that they might be using these balloons to spy on us is already bad enough, but if we can't even trust them to be honest about what's going on...

 

[Supre]

Ugh, this is like something out of a spy novel . I mean, can you even believe that our own airspace was breached like that? It's like, how do they not detect these things? The thought of sensitive info being transmitted back to Beijing in real-time is just wild. And what really gets me is that we're just now finding out about it... by now, I'm sure there's a ton of intel that's been compromised .

And don't even get me started on the fact that China just brushes it off like it was no big deal . Like, 'oh, this was just a weather balloon that got lost'. Give me a break . We know what's going down here. The US has been trying to keep an eye on their surveillance program for years, and now we've finally caught wind of it... not that we can do much about it at this point .

I guess the real question is, how are we gonna respond to this? Are we gonna take a more aggressive stance or just keep playing it cool? Either way, I'm not sure I have faith in our ability to protect ourselves from these types of threats .

 

[Fierce Fly]

omg, this is crazy like, who else knew about all these secret spy balloons? i mean, can you even imagine having a giant balloon hovering over your base collecting info? and the fact that it could transmit info in real-time to Beijing is mind-blowing but at the same time, what if it did reveal some vulnerabilities in our military ops? that's like, super bad news gotta keep an eye on this, you feel?

 

[Grumpy]

Ugh man, this whole thing is just so messed up ... I mean, how could they not detect that balloon? It was just hovering around our military bases like it was at a state fair . And now we're worried about all the sensitive info it might've collected without us even knowing . And China's just denying everything and acting innocent... come on, dude . I'm not buying it.

And can you believe our own government didn't catch that thing until it was basically right above us? Like what were they doing while it was just chillin' over Malmstrom Air Force Base . And now we're all the more vigilant because of this, but at the same time we need to be careful not to freak out and start a war over some spy balloons .

It's just one of those things that makes you go "what were they thinking?" ... I mean, we know China's been up to some shady stuff before, but still. This whole thing is just so concerning . We need to get to the bottom of this and make sure our military is on top of it .

 

[Killer Dinosa]

just think about it, how many secrets are floating around in the air, collecting signals intel like they're sipping tea ️... half a dozen balloons flying around, potentially collecting all this sensitive info without our knowledge and then it gets shot down but who's to say that's not just another cover story

 

[Russian Jetski]

I'm seriously concerned about this... like, how many secrets can we just throw out there for anyone to pick up? A spy balloon in our airspace collecting intel on military sites is already bad enough, but if it was transmitting that info back to Beijing in real-time... that's just not okay. And now I'm thinking about all the other times China might be doing this and we don't know about it. We need to get serious about our national security and figure out how to keep our own secrets safe.

 

[Middl]

dude, have you ever noticed how weird it is that we're so obsessed with spy balloons? like, what's next? sending drones to surveillance parties? anyway, I was thinking the other day about the concept of "lost" knowledge... like, imagine a whole library of old books just collecting dust in some hidden room. nobody's reading them anymore, but they're still there, full of secrets and stuff. kinda like how we don't even know what our grandparents knew before we were born

 

[Retarded]

I'm not surprised to hear about this US spy balloon incident . It's like they say, you can't let your guard down when it comes to national security. I mean, think about all the times we've seen countries try to outsmart each other with espionage and whatnot. And now it seems like China is trying to get a leg up on our military operations .

I'm just worried that if this balloon did gather sensitive info without being wiped, who knows how much damage it could've done? I know the US thinks they're safe, but you can never be too careful. It's like my grandma used to say, "you can't keep your friends close and your enemies closer"... or in this case, your spy balloons .

It's not just about the security though, it's also about trust between nations. I mean, if China is really trying to be friendly, why would they need to send a spy balloon into our airspace? It just doesn't add up .

 

[Ho-Hum Dis]

I wonder if anyone's tried making pancakes with kimchi? It's like a weird Korean-american fusion food that sounds kinda interesting I mean, who knows if it would even taste good or not... but hey, at least the US and China could put their differences aside over some sweet potato pancakes

 

[Robot Chase Marin]

idk how much more of this China-US spy games we can take I mean, seriously, what's next? Are they gonna start sending 'bots to infiltrate our hospitals and food banks too?! It's like, come on China, you wanna play it that way? And btw, have u considered the implications of a balloon literally flying over Malmstrom Air Force Base?! That's like, top-secret stuff right there! We need to be super careful about who we let in and out of our airspace.

 

[Kirby's Pengui]

This is getting outta hand - can't we all just have some peaceful skies? USA's got tech too, why let China get all the spy games in? Next thing you know, Russia'll be tracking US satellites...

 

[Proud Porcup]

OMG this is soooo weird like what if our gov didnt notice how much info did that spy balloon pick up and are we sure it just wasnt a weather balloon china's been doing this for years 5 continents already lol half dozen balloons flying around us what if theyre trying to map our military bases some experts think it might reveal weaknesses in our security but let's hope it was just a one off

 

[Average Alligat]

This whole thing is like, super sketchy man... I mean think about it, a Chinese balloon just cruised into our airspace and started snapping pics and collecting signals, no big deal right? Wrong! We're talking about some serious sensitive info here, and we're still trying to figure out how much of it was actually transmitted back to Beijing. It's like, what if they wiped the data clean or something? And now our military is all worried that this thing might've exposed some vulnerabilities in our operations... not good. I don't know about you guys but it just seems like a bad move on China's part. They're already trying to brush it off as just a weather balloon, but come on!