US intelligence officials have said that a Chinese spy balloon that flew across the country earlier this year had used an American internet service provider, NBC News reported on Thursday (Dec 28) citing two current and one former official familiar with the assessment.

US intelligence officials have said that a Chinese spy balloon that flew across the country earlier this year had used an American internet service provider, NBC News reported on Thursday (Dec 28) citing two current and one former official familiar with the assessment. According to the assessment, the spy balloon connected to a US-based company to send and receive communications from China, primarily related to the balloon's navigation. Officials told NBC News the assessment found that the connection allowed the balloon to send burst transmissions or high-bandwidth collections of data over short periods. The internet service provider's name has not been disclosed, and the company denied that the Chinese spy balloon had used its network. A 'highly secretive' court order sought by Biden admin The NBC News report on Thursday said that the Biden administration had sought a highly secretive court order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to collect intelligence about the spy balloon while it was over the US. But how the court ruled in this matter has also not been disclosed. Also read: Spy balloon, Panda diplomacy: US-China ties in 2023 entered a phase of 21st century cold war Officials told the network that such a court order would have allowed American intelligence agencies to conduct electronic surveillance on the balloon as it flew over the country and as it sent and received messages to and from China, including communication sent via the US-based internet service provider. The balloon had first passed into US airspace north of Alaska's Aleutian Islands in late January. It was shot down on Feb 4. The appearance of this balloon caused a political uproar in the US, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelling his visit to Beijing. Balloon unintentionally drifted into US: China China has repeatedly said that the balloon was used for meteorological research. Speaking with NBC News, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the US, said, "As we had made it clear before, the airship, used for meteorological research, unintentionally drifted into US because of the westerlies and its limited self-steering capability." Liu added that the facts in this matter were clear. (With inputs from agencies)

Chinese spy balloon used American internet provider to communicate: US intelligence officials

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Chinese spy balloon used American internet provider to communicate: US intelligence officials