Five Eyes nations accuse China of using fake online job ads to gather defense and policy information

K. S. The bulletin said the services are using an increasingly wide array of sites to reach anyone with access to classified or privileged information.

Chinese agents pose as workers acting on behalf of private businesses or think tanks and advertise for bogus jobs such as foreign policy or defense analysts, the alliance stated. The agents pretend to be human resources consultants for legitimate-looking companies and post job ads on websites including LinkedIn, Indeed and Upwork, according to the bulletin.

They then trawl through applicants’ CVs to identify those who might have access to useful information, with subsequent interviews conducted virtually.

Job hopefuls are asked to write reports on topics such as China’s relations with other countries, defense or trade. Recruits are then pushed for more sensitive information and the conversation is moved to encrypted messaging platforms, the bulletin said.

Payments range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per report and are made through platforms including PayPal, Western Union and cryptocurrency.

The targeted workers include security clearance holders, military personnel including those stationed in the Indo-Pacific region, and people with indirect or peripheral access to government information such as journalists or think tank employees, the alliance said.

Britain’s security minister Dan Jarvis urged anyone who could be a potential target for China’s intelligence services to be on guard for signs of online targeting and avoid inadvertently compromising our security. The bulletin highlighted an aggressive online recruitment strategy, the alliance said.