ΗΠΑ
- 27 Apr 2023
- international
The suspected Chinese spy balloon that was spotted over the US and subsequently shot down was able to collect signals intelligence from US military sites, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
The balloon was able to transmit the information it was recording back to Beijing in real time, the source added, without the US government yet knowing for sure whether the Chinese government would be able to purge the balloon's data.
However, there is little concern about the information the balloon was able to collect, the source said, as Chinese satellites can collect more information than the balloon can.
The US also knew what the balloon's path would be and was able to move to protect sensitive locations and censor certain signals before the balloon could pick them up, officials said.
The FBI is still examining the balloon, but so far experts have been able to gather information about how the device worked, including the algorithms used, the balloon's software, and how it is powered and designed.
