Got a LinkedIn message from a recruiter? It could be Chinese intelligence, alert the FBI and MI5
If you’ve ever received a message out of the blue on LinkedIn from a recruiter offering well-paid consulting work, intelligence agencies have a message for you: be very careful.
A joint report published earlier this week by the FBI, MI5, Australia’s ASIO, Canada’s CSIS, and New Zealand’s NZSIS warned that China’s military intelligence agencies are actively using professional social networking sites and online job boards to recruit Western workers to provide sensitive information.
According to the report, titled “Protecting Our Secrets”, Chinese intelligence officials – or third parties acting on their behalf – pose as employees of private companies, research institutes, and HR firms.
These fake “front companies” are reportedly pretending to be outside of China to give it an air of legitimacy, and are said to focus on people whose work has involved government, defense, or foreign policy.
The report describes the different stages of operation.
First, job ads are posted on platforms including LinkedIn, Indeed, and Upwork, and respondents’ CVs are rated based on the likelihood that the applicant has access to sensitive information.
Online interviews follow, with employers hiding their true identities and investigating job applicants for any government connections they may have. Military applicants, on the other hand, may be asked about their roles, unit duties, home base, or even the navy they serve on.
The successful candidates were then asked to write a test report on a seemingly innocuous topic. According to the advisory, topics include China’s bilateral relations, the Indo-Pacific region and related defense issues, and international trade.
With the working relationship established, the recruits are told that more work will require more important things, and the conversation turns to the application of encrypted messages.
Job seekers may be pleased to know that they will pay anywhere between a few thousand dollars and several thousand dollars per report – with payments made through platforms such as PayPal, Payoneer, Zelle, Skrill, Wise, Western Union, or digital cryptocurrency.
According to intelligence agencies, the target does not need security clearance to be used by Chinese spies. Even unclassified information on government policy, military strategy, or capabilities can be combined with more sensitive material to create what organizations call the “broader operational picture.”
Potential targets, according to the report, include academics, journalists, freelance writers, and think tank workers.
Even if it is said that you will apply for a job without continuing, it is said that there is a risk. Western agencies warn that simply submitting a CV that contains your employer’s history, special information, and professional contact details has no intelligence value.
The Five Eyes intelligence agencies after the publication of this advisory said that they have identified the people who did the work in China, and they face possible prosecution, loss of jobs and revocation of security clearance.
Potential targets are urged to treat unsolicited methods with caution, especially if the job opportunity appears to be well-targeted to your particular domain, or if an online conversation is quickly diverted to an encrypted messaging app.
China has already rejected the report, describing its allegations as “false” and “brutal slander,” before describing the members of the Five Eyes as a real threat to international stability.
