The Hacker News reported that MI5 issued a Security Service Espionage Alert on September 30, 2026. MI5 said the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI) mainly pays for research that improves spying tools used by China's Ministry of State Security. MI5 assesses CGTRI to be a front for that ministry. It funds work in China on AI, cybersecurity, covert communications and steganography, which means hiding messages inside other data. More than 100 UK-linked academics have contributed to projects it funded. MI5 urged UK universities to review any current or planned work with CGTRI.
Some academics may not know CGTRI is paying for their project, the alert said. The report does not name the academics, their universities or the projects. The alert warns that institutions, staff and researchers who keep collaborating could be prosecuted under the National Security Act 2023. China's embassy called the claims fabricated. It said the exchanges are voluntary and lawful.
The alert is addressed to UK universities. This is our reading, not MI5's: firms that fund or join university research could face the same problem. A funder can sit behind a partner, so the real sponsor stays unseen. Before signing, ask who pays, who else gets the results, and whether the funder is named.