Tencent frequently presents cybersecurity as a matter of protecting networks, preventing fraud, and safeguarding users. However, Tencent’s own publicly reported strategic cooperation with China Unicom reveals a broader scope of activity: 5G network security offense and defense research, security technology development, and joint laboratory construction.
A December 20, 2022, report published by Lei Feng Network (雷峰网), titled China Unicom and Tencent Upgrade Strategic Cooperation to Serve the Digital Transformation of the Real Economy (中国联通和腾讯战略合作升级 服务实体产业数字化转型), documented a new strategic cooperation agreement signed by the two companies at the 2022 China Unicom Partners Conference.
The report stated:
12月20日，中国联通和腾讯在“2022中国联通合作伙伴大会”上签署新一轮战略合作协议。
English translation:
On December 20, China Unicom and Tencent signed a new strategic cooperation agreement at the 2022 China Unicom Partners Conference.
This was not their first agreement. The report also noted:
早在2016年，腾讯就与中国联通达成战略合作伙伴关系。本次签署新一轮战略合作协议，标志着双方合作的进一步深化。
English translation:
As early as 2016, Tencent had already established a strategic partnership with China Unicom. The signing of this new strategic cooperation agreement marked a further deepening of their cooperation.
1. Cooperation Extends to Government and Enterprise Markets
The agreement covered multiple sectors, including government and enterprise customers:
根据协议，双方将在政企、个人、家庭客户市场以及数字化转型等方面开展深度合作，助力产业高质量发展和用户高品质生活。
English translation:
Under the agreement, the two parties would conduct in-depth cooperation in government and enterprise markets, personal and household customer markets, and digital transformation.
The report further specified that cooperation in government and enterprise markets would be a key strategic priority:
其中，面向政企市场，推动数实融合和产业互联网发展，是双方未来战略合作的重点方向。
English translation:
Among these areas, promoting the integration of the digital and physical economies and the development of the industrial internet for government and enterprise markets would be a key focus of the two parties’ future strategic cooperation.
The cooperation would involve cloud computing, big data, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence, with applications in industry, energy, and transportation, followed by nationwide replication and deployment of jointly developed solutions.
2. Tencent and China Unicom Explicitly Commit to 5G Security Offense and Defense Research
The most revealing part of the report concerns cybersecurity.
The original Chinese text states:
此外，双方还将在电信网络诈骗治理、5G网络安全攻防研究、安全前沿科技等方面开展合作。
English translation:
In addition, the two parties would cooperate in telecommunications fraud prevention and control, 5G network security offense and defense research, and cutting-edge security technologies.
The critical phrase is:
5G网络安全攻防研究 — 5G network security offense and defense research.
The Chinese expression 攻防 (offense and defense) explicitly encompasses both offensive and defensive aspects of security research.
This is not merely a commitment to protect networks against cyberattacks. The agreement expressly identifies offensive and defensive research as an area of cooperation.
The report goes further:
其中，面向安全前沿科技，双方将深入开展安全技术交流、安全攻防研究、联合实验室共建等合作，共同筑牢网络安全防线，为建设网络强国贡献力量。
English translation:
In the field of cutting-edge security technologies, the two parties would conduct in-depth cooperation in security technology exchanges, security offense and defense research, and joint laboratory development, working together to strengthen cybersecurity defenses and contribute to building a strong cyber power.
Three specific areas of cooperation are identified:
Security technology exchanges.
Security offense and defense research.
Joint laboratory development.
The stated national objective is to contribute to building a strong cyber power (网络强国).
3. The Distinction Between Cybersecurity Defense and Offense Matters
There is an important distinction between conventional cybersecurity protection and offensive security capabilities.
Defensive cybersecurity generally involves protecting networks, identifying vulnerabilities, preventing intrusions, detecting malicious activity, and responding to attacks.
Offensive security research, by contrast, can involve penetration testing, vulnerability exploitation, attack simulation, and the development and evaluation of offensive techniques.
The Chinese term 攻防研究 explicitly identifies both sides of this field.
Consequently, Tencent’s publicly reported cooperation with China Unicom cannot accurately be described as exclusively defensive cybersecurity work.
The company’s own reported strategic cooperation includes research into both offensive and defensive aspects of 5G network security.
The original report identifies the two signatories’ representatives as China Unicom Deputy General Manager Tang Yongbo (唐永博) and Tencent Vice President and President of Tencent’s Government and Enterprise Business Li Qiang (李强).
The central point is straightforward: Tencent’s own publicly reported strategic agreement with China Unicom explicitly includes 5G network security offense and defense research. Tencent’s cybersecurity activities, therefore, cannot simply be portrayed as defensive protection against cyberattacks. Original Chinese source:
https://tech.cnr.cn/techph/20221220/t20221220_526100313.shtml
U.S. government investigations and international media reports have documented several incidents involving China Unicom’s telecommunications networks and infrastructure in cyberattack and surveillance activities:
(1) In December 2020, The Guardian, citing mobile network security expert Gary Miller, reported that the vast majority of apparent surveillance attacks targeting U.S. mobile phone subscribers over 3G and 4G networks in 2018 were routed through China Unicom, a state-owned telecommunications operator, potentially indicating a state-sponsored espionage campaign. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/15/revealed-china-suspected-of-spying-on-americans-via-caribbean-phone-networks
(2) In March 2021, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in its official document FCC 21-37, cited an independent analysis finding that a component of China Unicom was identified as the most likely source of attacks targeting U.S. mobile users and devices through international SS7 signaling links between May 2018 and December 2019. The FCC also discussed the potential for China Unicom Americas to redirect U.S. communications traffic through BGP route attacks. Source: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-21-37A1_Rcd.pdf
(3) On September 18, 2024, the FBI, NSA and other U.S. agencies issued a joint cybersecurity advisory documenting that Integrity Technology Group, a Beijing-based company, used IP addresses belonging to China Unicom Beijing Province Network to control and manage a botnet of compromised devices; the same IP addresses were also used to access infrastructure involved in computer intrusion activities against U.S. victims. Source: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/cyber-alerts/copy_of_peoples-republic-of-china-linked-actors-compromise-routers-and-iot-devices-for-botnet-operations.pdf
(4) On the same date, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that the FBI had disrupted a worldwide botnet controlled by Integrity Technology Group, which had been used by China-linked hackers to conduct malicious cyber activities, including attacks against U.S. and foreign organizations. Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/court-authorized-operation-disrupts-worldwide-botnet-used-peoples-republic-china-state-sponsored-hackers
Cybersecurity threats involving Chinese telecommunications infrastructure are not confined to government agencies or military targets. Publicly documented investigations have also involved ordinary mobile phone subscribers, personal communications, and internet-connected devices.
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