ZeroFox Intelligence Brief - Article 23 and Risks to Foreign Nationals in Hong Kong

Product Serial: B-2024-03-26a

TLP:CLEAR

In this intelligence brief, ZeroFox researchers report on the potential impact of Article 23, an updated Hong Kong-specific national security law which came into effect on March 23, 2024.

Standing Intelligence Requirements

Geopolitical and Physical GEO

For the most up-to-date list of ZeroFox’s Intelligence Requirements, please visit:

https://cloud.zerofox.com/intelligence/advisories/14956

Link to Download

View the full report here.

Executive Summary

Article 23, an updated Hong Kong-specific national security law, went into effect on March 23, 2024.
A previous version of the law that brought Hong Kong’s legal system in line with mainland China’s prompted mass protests in 2019 and 2020.
The updated version expands the list of crimes to include accessing data that was previously legally permissible and increases the punishment for offenders. The broad and vague wording of Article 23 could see it applied to a wide range of data types, like financial and economic growth figures that firms consider necessary for operations.
Western firms that have used Hong Kong to access the Chinese market for years will likely experience a more difficult operating environment and a heightened risk of arrest for their employees.