The United States National Security Agency (NSA) Deputy Director Tim Kosiba said that Beijing is playing the role of “disruptor” around the world, including providing geospatial intelligence to Iran to help them attack U.S. military bases and allies. At the same time, he also mentioned the need to be vigilant against the direct threats that the Chinese Communist Party poses in the development of artificial intelligence.
The National Security Agency is one of the United States federal intelligence agencies under the Department of Defense.
At a TechNet conference held in Augusta on Thursday (August 20), the second-in-command of this top U.S. military technical intelligence agency issued stern warnings about the threats posed by Beijing in “various domains.”
“China is virtually involved in every national security priority we are dealing with today; this is intense competition,” said Kosiba.
He stated that from Greenland to the Korean Peninsula and to the Western Hemisphere, Beijing is playing the roles of “disruptor” and “troublemaker,” and attempting to “assist enemies of the United States in almost every domain and environment.”
“For example, Chinese companies provide geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) to Iran to help them attack our bases and allies; this is no longer a secret,” he said.
According to a report by The Washington Post in April, Chinese companies associated with the People’s Liberation Army have been using artificial intelligence analysis of open source information to track the movements of the U.S. military. U.S. officials have varying assessments of the threat posed by the information provided by these Chinese companies, but the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that at least one defense official believes these actions may pose a threat to the U.S. military. The Chinese Foreign Ministry argued that these images are “from open sources and constitute normal market behavior.”
Kosiba also accused China of providing intelligence, drone technology, and training to Russia, and participating in the unprovoked war Russia launched against Ukraine. In May, Reuters cited European intelligence sources reporting that the Chinese military has helped train dozens of Russian military personnel.
Kosiba explained, “Our forces, networks, and signal intelligence resources have been tasked with tracking and countering these activities, which is a top priority of this administration.”
It is reported that the United States National Security Agency is closely cooperating with domestic and international partners.
Kosiba emphasized the importance of maintaining U.S. superiority in the field of artificial intelligence. AI is not only a future development area recognized by the United States, but also a critical field in which the Chinese Communist Party hopes to surpass others.
“We must leverage our technological advancements for development, and artificial intelligence is an extremely important driving force that changes the nature of warfare, whether in offense or defense,” he said.
He added, “We live in a world of AI agents. I’m referring to the present – not one year or ten years from now, but today, right in the actions we are taking today.”
AI agents are autonomous decision-making systems that surpass traditional generative AI and can conduct complex tasks through advanced reasoning, planning, and autonomous execution.
He stated that artificial intelligence is developing at an astonishing pace, with the threats brought about by China directly intertwined with this.
“Our adversaries are investing resources in developing AI technology to penetrate our networks and surpass us,” Kosiba said. “Whoever successfully integrates artificial intelligence into workflows and fully harnesses its power to mine and utilize data will gain significant advantages.”
“We cannot afford to fall behind, not even for a moment,” he emphasized.