Remember the Chinese spy balloon—aka the "civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes" (according to China)—that in February flew over the United States until the US Air Force shot it down? Apparently the super-secret surveillance device was, um, using an American internet service provider to communicate with its operators in China, according to NBC News who are not naming the company:
From NBC News:
The Biden administration sought a highly secretive court order from the federal Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to collect intelligence about [the balloon] while it was over the U.S., according to multiple current and former U.S. officials. How the court ruled has not been disclosed.Such a court order would have allowed U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct electronic surveillance on the balloon as it flew over the U.S. and as it sent and received messages to and from China, the officials said, including communications sent via the American internet service provider[…]
Chinese intelligence officials have covertly used commercially available service providers in various countries in the past, often as backup communication networks, according to multiple former U.S. officials. They frequently seek out encrypted networks or ones with strong security protocols so they can communicate securely, the officials said.
