“Some countries stop at nothing”: suspected spying at chipmaker BelGaN is far from unique

The suspected espionage case involving a former executive of Belgian chipmaker BelGaN is raising a broader question: how far will foreign powers go to obtain the country’s corporate and state secrets?

“Constantly,” said Kenneth Lasoen, a professor of intelligence and national security at the University of Antwerp, on the VRT NWS podcast Het Kwartier. “Nearly everyone spies.” He said countries use intelligence to gain power through knowledge of both friends and enemies. Some operations can serve legitimate national-security purposes, he said, while others seek political or economic advantage by stealing secrets. “Some countries really stop at nothing to get that information.”

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Constantly. Nearly everyone spies. It is a common joke that this is called the second-oldest profession in the world.

Lasoen pointed particularly to Russia and China. Much espionage happens remotely through cyberoperations, he said. He cited the Russian Embassy in Brussels, whose roof has the largest number of espionage antennas in Europe, according to his account.

The most traditional form of espionage still relies on people. Intelligence services may manipulate individuals or pressure them into stealing secrets. They may also place operatives inside sensitive government departments or companies, where they can spend years appearing to be model employees before taking action. In some cases, they systematically collect secrets and pass them to their real employers.

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Some countries really stop at nothing to get that information.

Lasoen said the BelGaN case also reflected the tactic of “mirror companies.” Belgium’s State Security service warned earlier this year that Chinese companies invest in Belgian businesses, research centers or spin-offs, especially smaller entities developing promising technologies but lacking sufficient funding. The investors can gain access to the technology, establish a Chinese company producing it on a larger scale and later sell the original parent company, if possible at a profit.

The Flemish technology industry federation Agoria has expressed concern about the BelGaN case and says more support is needed for knowledge security. The article ends during its discussion of existing screening measures.

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Chinese companies invest in Belgian companies, research centers or spin-offs, preferably in smaller entities that develop promising technologies but struggle with insufficient funding.