MI5 Issues Spy Alert to UK Universities Over Chinese Front Company Stealing Research

China’s intelligence service used a front company to pay grants to British universities and steal crucial research about technology projects, MI5 said on Wednesday in a rare public espionage warning. Britain’s domestic security service said researchers and academics should cease work with the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI), sometimes also known as the China Academy of General Technology (CAGT). MI5 believes it poses a “significant threat”. The Chinese organisation has given money to 100 or more academics at a string of universities across the UK, in return getting access to the research, which it is alleged found its way…