Five Eyes Warns China Is Recruiting Insiders Through LinkedIn and Gig Platforms

The Five Eyes intelligence alliance has warned that Chinese military intelligence services are using professional networking, recruitment, and freelance platforms including LinkedIn, Indeed, and Upwork to identify and cultivate people with access to sensitive government and military information. According to the joint bulletin, Chinese operatives pose as recruiters, consultants, think tanks, or HR firms, then build relationships with targets and gradually request increasingly sensitive reporting. The campaign is aimed not only at security clearance holders and active military personnel, but also at academics, journalists, freelance writers, think tank staff, and others whose unclassified knowledge of policy, strategy, capabilities, or installations can be combined into actionable intelligence.

The advisory says communications often shift from mainstream platforms to encrypted messaging apps, while payments may be routed through services such as PayPal, Zelle, Wise, Western Union, and cryptocurrency. Officials said some targets have already provided information, leading in some cases to criminal prosecutions, revoked security clearances, and job losses. The warning builds on earlier MI5 alerts, including concerns about Chinese approaches to parliamentarians and a prior estimate that roughly 10,000 Britons were targeted over five years, while similar tactics have also been reported in the United States through fake consulting firms seeking information from former federal workers.