Danish university to scrutinise international tech researchers amid spying concerns

One of Denmark’s starring universities is ramping up its scrutiny of imaginable researchers and students pinch ties to countries that nationalist intelligence officials fishy are trying to spy connected nan Nordic nation.

In an intranet post, nan University of Copenhagen announced caller screening procedures for prospective collaborators, employees, and students to reside “the increasing espionage threat against beardown Western investigation environments”.

The caller measures target China, Russia, and Iran, which nan Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) classifies arsenic high-risk countries for espionage.

People from these countries will beryllium taxable to stricter vetting earlier they are allowed to enrol successful aliases do investigation astatine nan University of Copenhagen. Partnerships pinch researchers astatine universities successful these countries will besides beryllium scrutinised.

“There is expanding uncertainty successful nan world, and we are reacting to nan information and threat appraisal prepared, among others, by nan Danish intelligence institutions,” Kim Brinckmann, nan university’s lawman head for investigation and accusation security, told Euronews Next successful a statement.

Research information risks

The argumentation reflects a wider nationalist interest astir safeguarding strategically important technologies specified arsenic artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology, semiconductors, and abstraction technology.

Denmark’s Ministry of Higher Education and Science introduced guidelines successful 2020 to effort to forestall its universities from helping “autocratic states” build up their capacity successful “sensitive areas” done world investigation collaborations.

In 2022, nan ministry said successful a study that it was concerned overseas actors were attempting to utilization world openness successful bid to summation entree to delicate knowledge and technology.

“Both Danish and overseas intelligence services definitive that overseas states are progressively attempting to unlawfully get knowledge, technology, and products that are important for Denmark’s competitiveness, aliases that whitethorn negatively impact information policy,” said nan report.

The University of Copenhagen’s determination follows a akin move past twelvemonth by different Danish investigation institution, Aarhus University. Aarhus University barred its researchers from moving pinch 3 Iranian universities, saying Iran, China, and Russia person been “particularly fierce successful their attempts to summation illicit access” to Danish research.

The assemblage said it would salary “special attention” to overseas collaborations connected investigation topics that could beryllium utilized successful some subject and civilian settings.

Danish authorities person referred to their Investment Screening Act to place “critical” technologies that will get stronger scrutiny going forward.

In 2023, nan European Commission besides recommended that countries successful nan European Union measure their information risks related to 4 captious exertion areas: precocious semiconductors, AI, quantum, and biotechnologies.

Mitigation measures whitethorn see restricted IT and beingness access

Brinckmann said nan caller rules use universitywide, but that she expects “it will person nan top effect wrong nan earthy and wellness sciences”.

Under nan caller procedure, investigation projects that whitethorn beryllium considered captious – for example, those connected nan Commission’s database of delicate exertion areas – should beryllium assessed earlier nan assemblage enters into collaboration, employment, hosting, aliases enrolment involving group from nan 3 high-risk countries.

“The caller information procedures do not lick each problems, but they nonstop an important awesome astir a changed attack to world investigation collaboration, wherever we request to beryllium much closed and unafraid successful immoderate areas truthful that nan assemblage tin proceed to beryllium unfastened and accommodating successful each nan different areas,” Brinckmann said. 

Professors, who often activity connected investigation projects pinch peers astatine different universities successful Denmark and beyond, are besides being asked to see “whether nan personification being screened is intimately affiliated pinch 1 of nan high-risk countries”.

That includes group who person stayed successful a high-risk state for much than six months, received backing from that country, aliases “substantially” published investigation pinch collaborators from there, according to nan university’s rectorate.