The pandemic has become an area of ​​action for China and Russia: mask and vaccine diplomacy, great opportunities to follow everyone

It is no secret that the coronavirus pandemic has become an opportunity for various fans of conspiracy theories to gain attention. This is noticeable in many countries around the world, including Lithuania.

The Department of Homeland Security (SSD) and the Second Department of Operational Services (AOTD) note in their annual report (National Security Threat Assessment) that “the pandemic has increased the spread of radical political ideologies and destructive conspiracy theories in many states. “.

And although the originators of the conspiracy theories were not very successful in Lithuania, their protests received only individual participants. The SSD and AOTD Threat Assessment emphasizes that “event organizers show good organization and coordination skills and use conspiracy methods in their activities.”

And this is typical of the activities of the special services, all the more so since in Lithuania, according to the authors of the report, “most of the people active against the anti-pandemic restrictions are influenced by Kremlin propaganda.”

“More than half of the misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic on the Lithuanian internet segment is obtained directly or based on information sources favorable to the Kremlin,” the document says. And this, according to its organizers, is not a coincidence, because Russia, as
other authoritarian states have used methods over the years that have only strengthened the possibilities for espionage and public control. While conspirators of conspiracy theories spoke of 5G, chips in vaccines and Gates, Russia and China have in fact applied “new means to control their societies, further limiting opportunities for democratic expression.”

Massive people tracking

The initial response of many countries to the spread of the pandemic was similar: shut down and look after only their own national interests. But some countries have gone even further.

This was facilitated by the sudden restriction of people’s freedom to travel, competition for medical equipment, and other restrictions to stop the spread of the pandemic in the states.

Taking advantage of the extreme situation of COVID-19, the authoritarian state has partially converted the contact tracing of infected individuals, which is one of the main methods to control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, into large-scale forced surveillance of the population.

Centralized collection of personal data including from uninfected residents and foreign nationals who remain in the country, controlled movement in public spaces China has expanded its national surveillance system and developed a national sanitary code.

It is used for controlled trips in public transport, visits to cafes and other public places. To obtain a health code, individuals must enter personal, health, and travel information in popular apps in China.

Once approved by authorities, individuals receive green, yellow or red codes that allow or prohibit movement in public spaces. There is also massive surveillance of people with video cameras and drones in the country.

Russia has applied a similar vehicle registration system. To visit public places, Moscow residents over the age of 14 had to obtain a special QR code permit from the authorities. It was mandatory to link the personal account on the permit website to the government’s electronic gateway, which collects personal data from the population, ”says the SSD and AOTD report.

Seeks to harm the western states

But this is only the tip of the iceberg. The document also points out that the situation caused by the pandemic is also being used by authoritarian states to pursue global goals: to harm hostile states or, on the contrary, to improve their international image.

“Russia has quickly adapted to the changing international security situation and has begun to use the pandemic to spread propaganda and disinformation in Western countries. Often unrelated and even contradictory narratives about Western failures in fighting a pandemic highlight tensions between countries, spreading conspiracy theories related to COVID-19.

In this way, Russia pursues its traditional objectives of fomenting conflicts between and within the West, supporting Eurosceptic political forces, demonstrating the inaction of NATO, the European Union (EU) and their members, “the document said, reiterating the Previous EU findings on the attempts to take advantage of the pandemic.

At the same time, another aggressive trend was observed: Chinese propaganda and diplomacy, both towards the EU as a whole and towards individual countries, intensified to repel criticism of the pandemic and create a positive image of China.

Chinese diplomatic missions play an important role in “masked diplomacy,” which handles the logistics of medical devices and tries to keep the public as informed as possible about the support provided. International Chinese companies are actively involved in these activities: by donating medical devices, they seek to increase their visibility and competitiveness in host countries.

Through various channels of influence (diplomatic missions, news agencies, multinationals, diasporas, and student organizations) and through informal contacts with foreign politicians, journalists, and academics, the Chinese political regime spreads propaganda abroad about China’s global leadership. and the CCP’s achievements. their lack of unity. China is implementing “mask diplomacy” in Lithuania and spreading propaganda in the country’s information space, “say the Lithuanian explorers.

In addition, it is recalled that in order to manage the informative discourse related to the pandemic and spread pro-Chinese narratives, “the Chinese political regime is expanding cooperation with the Lithuanian media, periodically publishing commissioned articles on propaganda content.”

China not only presents itself as the first economic power in the world to successfully control the virus and recover quickly, but also as a country that still denies that the virus originated in China.

Targeted vaccines and hospitals

However, Russia and China, which have applied security measures, have launched an aggressive campaign of cyber espionage, this is also noticeable in Lithuania, although it is no exception to the usual changes in the world.

“In Lithuania, as in the rest of the world, the telecommuting organization creates breaches in cyber security, and the intelligence of hostile states and the programmers supported by them are looking for new opportunities to increase the efficiency of malicious activities,” it read in the document. warns. Cyber ​​groups in Lithuania, controlled by the Russian intelligence services, prepared cyberattacks against the highest authorities in Lithuania, foreign policy and national security institutions, energy and educational institutions.

“In Lithuania and other countries around the world, in order to reduce the number of contacts and the movement of potentially infected people, the number of people who connect remotely from their home to the information systems of their place of residence has increased. work, and physical meetings have been replaced by conferences. Information systems administrators sought to adapt quickly and quickly to changes by creating and implementing new accesses, communication channels, and tools.

“It is likely that the new gaps were not only caused by the inexperience or urgency of the specialists, but were also found in programs that offer remote communication solutions, which previously had not received as much attention from programmers due to their less popularity ”, the explorers warned.

That is why the greatest threat to Lithuanian institutions is posed by cyber espionage groups coordinated by Russian intelligence services. The cyber capabilities of Russia and other hostile states have likely become a priority tool for gathering targeted information due to the changes brought about by the pandemic.

Furthermore, Lithuania, according to the explorers, became a base for cyberattacks: allegedly, groups controlled by Russian intelligence services also used the infrastructure of Lithuania’s information technology (IT) services sector for attacks. cyber attacks against targets in western countries.

“For example, part of the 2020 Russian intelligence services’ APT29 cyber espionage group attacks against COVID-19 vaccine development organizations in the West, which were announced in July, were carried out using the IT infrastructure of Lithuania, “the document emphasizes. And such attacks were not directed against anyone, but against the development of a vaccine against the coronavirus.

“The United Kingdom, Canada and the United States have announced that cyber espionage group APT29, most likely led by Russian intelligence, has conducted cyber espionage operations against organizations involved in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine,” the report said.

In Lithuania, not only the National Public Health Center, but also the Klaipėda Seafarers Hospital service stations, which had drug verification and accounting document management systems, were already affected by programmers – data was encrypted during the attack.