Five Eyes Nations Warn Chinese Intelligence Using LinkedIn and Job Sites to Target Western Personnel
The U.S. and its intelligence partners issued a bulletin this week detailing recruitment efforts by Chinese military intelligence services on professional networking platforms.
thehindu.comU.S. and its Five Eyes partners issued a bulletin this week warning that Chinese military intelligence services are using online job platforms and networking sites to target individuals with access to sensitive information. The bulletin states that Chinese intelligence officers are posing as recruiters on LinkedIn and other sites.
The officers are targeting government and military personnel, journalists, and academics who could have access to classified or privileged information. , Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The officers build relationships with job candidates and may offer targets money in exchange for reports on topics of interest to the Chinese government, including defense and trade.
The bulletin said the goal of the Chinese intelligence activity is to seek to acquire privileged military, political and economic intelligence that can provide China with a strategic and tactical advantage over the Five Eyes. The warning echoes the experience of reporters with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, who were recently approached by these purported recruiters.
After ICIJ published an investigation titled China Targets into China’s transnational repression, the targets began receiving suspicious emails and messages on LinkedIn.
ICIJ published an article about phony whistleblowers, fake journalists and cyber spies targeting the ICIJ network on April 27, 2026.
