Home / Business and Economy / Private Spy Tech Unmasks China Ties
Private Spy Tech Unmasks China Ties
25 Apr
Summary
- Private firm Strider uses AI to trace foreign ownership.
- Utah banned land purchases by US adversaries.
- Strider maps global industrial world for clients.
Utah's Department of Public Safety utilized Strider Technologies, a firm specializing in private sector intelligence, to investigate a motorsports park near a US military ammunition depot. Authorities were unable to determine the park's ownership, a crucial question given Utah's 2023 ban on land purchases by US adversaries like China.
Strider's AI platform, which analyzes vast public records, traced the park's ownership back to Mitime Utah Investment LLC, revealing direct ties to the Chinese government and military. This discovery underscores the increasing importance of private intelligence firms in national security, especially as the US seeks to reduce economic reliance on China.
Strider offers a commercialized counterespionage service, mapping global industrial connections for clients ranging from the US Air Force to NATO. The company, valued at $450 million in September 2024, operates in 16 countries and employs a "zero-touch" model to safeguard client data.
Concerns have been raised regarding data privacy and the potential for surveillance. However, Strider asserts its operations adhere to legal frameworks using verifiable, open-source information. The company's success is demonstrated by its role in halting a land sale near Provo airport linked to Chinese government ownership and a separate divestment of agricultural land.
