China's 'Super Aggressive' Spy Campaign on LinkedIn

Reuters News Service reported on August 31, 2018 that the United States’ top spy catcher said Chinese espionage agencies are using fake LinkedIn accounts to try to recruit Americans with access to government and commercial secrets.

The Chinese campaign includes contacting thousands of LinkedIn members at a time, but he declined to say how many fake accounts U.S. intelligence had discovered, how many Americans may have been contacted and how much success China has had in the recruitment drive.

German and British authorities have previously warned their citizens that Beijing is using LinkedIn to try to recruit them as spies. But this is the first time a U.S. official has publicly discussed the challenge in the United States and indicated it is a bigger problem than previously known.

U.S. officials said China’s Ministry of State Security has “co-optees” - individuals who are not employed by intelligence agencies but work with them - set up fake accounts to approach potential recruits.

Chinese intelligence uses bribery or phony business propositions in its recruitment efforts. Academics and scientists, for example, are offered payment for scholarly or professional papers and, in some cases, are later asked or pressured to pass on U.S. government or commercial secrets.
--

Unfortunately, many don't realize that LinkedIn is just another form of social media, and one that allows unfettered access to the information individuals post on it. Given that it is used to "manage your professional identity. Build and engage with your professional network. Access knowledge, insights and opportunities," it comes as no surprise that it is a wealth of sensitive information that would be of interest to a foreign intelligence service.