Chinese spies use LinkedIn, Indeed, and other online job platforms to target officials and military personnel from other countries.
This is the warning issued on June 3 by the intelligence agencies of the United States and the other Five Eyes countries (United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) the international alliance for intelligence information sharing, according to which China’s military intelligence services use professional networking sites and online job platforms like LinkedIn to target government and military personnel of the Five Eyes and anyone with access to classified or sensitive information.
THE WARNING ISSUED BY THE FIVE EYES
They post nonexistent job ads, such as foreign policy or defense analysts, before pressuring candidates to provide “non-public” information, warn the Five Eyes intelligence agencies. Officials said this is the first time members of the Five Eyes intelligence group have issued a joint public statement on the growing threat through networking platforms.
The bulletin states that “China’s military intelligence services are using an increasingly broad range of professional networking sites and online job platforms to target government and military personnel of the Five Eyes.” Chinese operators “pose as employees of private consulting firms, think tanks, or human resources companies and post online job ads” with the aim of attracting people with access to state secrets, the notice says.
EXPLOITING PLATFORMS LIKE LINKEDIN, INDEED, AND UPWORK
Specifically, recruits are targeted on professional networking sites and online job platforms such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and Upwork, where Chinese agents pose as human resources consultants from seemingly legitimate companies that appear to be based elsewhere in the world, focusing on those who have direct or indirect access to their country’s secrets.
The alert adds that those who respond to China’s proposals are subjected to increasing “pressure to provide ‘non-public’ information for unspecified clients,” often with financial incentives for sharing information later passed on to Chinese security services. According to the agencies, Chinese spies have commissioned reports from contacted individuals, paying them from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, sometimes even in cryptocurrency.
THE TARGETED SUBJECTS
According to the bulletin, Western intelligence has assessed that targeted subjects include people with the highest-level security clearances and military personnel, including those stationed in the Indo-Pacific. The recruitment activity by the Chinese state also extends to academics, journalists, and freelance writers, reports Politico.
THE JOINT STATEMENT OF THE FBI, MI5, AND AUSTRALIAN, CANADIAN, AND NEW ZEALAND INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES
“China’s military intelligence services are using an increasingly broad range of professional networking sites and online job platforms to target government and military personnel of the Five Eyes, as well as anyone with access to classified or sensitive information,” reads a joint statement from the FBI, the British security service MI5, and the intelligence agencies of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
According to the note, “China’s military intelligence services ultimately aim to acquire privileged military, political, and economic information that can provide China with a strategic and tactical advantage over the Five Eyes countries.”
BEIJING’S CONDEMNATION
Beijing does not accept this: the Chinese embassy in the United Kingdom condemned the accusations, calling the claim of Chinese espionage threats “completely fabricated” and “malicious slander,” reports Bloomberg. It also stated that the Five Eyes members represent the real threat to peace-loving countries.
