Chinese spies offer freelancers lucrative side hustles via job networks in hunt for secrets, agencies warn
Five Eyes intelligence agencies say Chinese spies are posing as recruiters on job platforms, using paid research assignments, encrypted messaging apps and cryptocurrency payments to lure targets with access to sensitive information.
Image by Cybernews
Five Eyes intelligence agencies say Chinese spies are posing as recruiters on job platforms, using paid research assignments, encrypted messaging apps and cryptocurrency payments to lure targets with access to sensitive information.
- Five Eyes agencies say Chinese operatives are posing as recruiters on job sites to target people with access to useful government, military, and policy information.
- The approach often starts with paid, harmless-looking research tasks, then shifts to encrypted apps and less transparent payment systems as handlers push for more sensitive info.
- The warning is broad - it doesn't just apply to officials but also to journalists, academics and researchers. Risks include privacy breaches, access privilege loss and job loss, as well as possible prosecution.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
The warning comes from the intelligence agencies of the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, collectively known as the Five Eyes partnership.
While it’s not the first time a warning has been issued on this subject, it’s the first joint warning that all five agencies have put out in its joint bulletin, Safeguarding Our Secrets.
The bulletin states that Chinese military intelligence officers are posing as recruiters, consultants and headhunters on platforms such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and Upwork to identify people with access to valuable government, military and police information.
Targets are contacted via fake consulting firms or think tanks and invited to complete paid research assignments but agencies warn that the real goal is to build trust before gradually seeking increasingly sensitive information.
Grooming targets through side hustle offers
At first the requests seem harmless: a trial report on a topic such as China’s bilateral relations, the Indo-Pacific region and related defence issues, or international trade.
However, the requests eventually become sensitive, and alternative platforms are offered.
“Recruits are informed that for additional reports, the client requires more privileged information and are encouraged to move to “secure” platforms, such as encrypted messaging applications,” the bulletin notes.
According to Five Eyes, payments for work are routed through services such as PayPal, Wise, Zelle, Skrill as well as Western Union, e-transfer or cryptocurrency to obscure who is really behind the operation.
While applicants often have no direct access to classified information, the bulletin says that even unclassified information on government policy, or on military strategy, capabilities and installations is valuable and “can be collected and combined with more sensitive reporting to form a comprehensive operational picture.”
The targets for this kind of gig work aren’t always spies or military personnel, who might be wiser to these tactics. Journalists, academics think tank researchers and freelance analysts may also be lured into intelligence gathering, the agencies warn.
Check if your data has been leaked
The consequences of revealing certain types of information can place the lives of military and other personnel at risk and can weaken economic prosperity, the missive warns, while applicants who provide CVs and personal data can compromise their privacy.
The agencies stress that past “recruits” have faced security-clearance revocation, job losses and even jail time.
The warning echoes earlier concerns raised by British security officials last year, when Parliament was alerted to Chinese state actors using LinkedIn to connect with MPs, peers and parliamentary staff.
Unlock more exclusive Cybernews content on YouTube.