Czech special services report on actions of Russian spies against Ukraine and EU

25.10.2017 17:50

Ukrinform

The Czech Security Information Service (BIS) has issued an annual report, which points to the increased activity of Russian and Chinese spies on the territory of the country, the 420on.cz website has reported, with reference to a BIS report.

"The Security Information Service released a report for 2016, in which it pointed to the increased activity of Russian secret services in the Czech Republic. Chinese spies also became more active," the report says.

It notes that Chinese intelligence agencies were oriented primarily on the "elimination of the Tibet issue and the disturbance of Czech-Taiwanese relations."

Russian spies worked in different spheres - both in domestic affairs of the Czech Republic and as part of campaigns against Ukraine, NATO and the EU.

The report also mentions Russian cyber spies. They were engaged in possible compromising of routers at IP addresses in two state government agencies. The APT28/Sofacy campaign is currently probably the most active and visible Russian cyber-espionage campaign affecting a wide range of areas, including diplomatic relations, the army, science and research.

As in 2015, the BIS recorded repeated violations of legal and regulatory rules set for specific business sectors by entities with Russian capital. Companies with Russian capital also turned out to be more connected with the shadow economy and the use of legitimate business to cover illegal activities. In 2016, there was a rise in the aggression, with which representatives of these companies tried to prevent legal sanctions in case of discovery by the Czech authorities.

The report also says that the migration of Russian citizens to the Czech Republic posed a potential threat to the republic. This applies primarily to Russian citizens from the Caucasus, who arrived on the Belarus-Poland-Germany route. Due to the strengthening of control on the border with Poland and in Germany in the summer of 2016 it was possible to complicate the transit for migrants.

The Czech Security Information Service also said that large associations of business entities began to exert more influence on the economic issues of the Czech Republic. According to the report, this happens on absolutely legal grounds, but interference in the country's economic interests remains uncontested.