The Five Eyes intelligence alliance, comprising the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, issued a joint security bulletin on June 3 warning that Chinese military intelligence services are using professional networking and online job platforms such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and Upwork to target government and military personnel with access to classified or sensitive information [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12].
Chinese operatives pose as human resources consultants, recruiters, or employees of fictitious consultancies and think tanks that appear legitimate and are located outside China to lure candidates [1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 12]. The fabricated job advertisements focus on roles like foreign policy analysts, defense analysts, and other positions related to security and intelligence [1, 2, 3, 10, 12]. During the recruitment process, applicants are pressured to provide non-public, sensitive information through interviews, written reports, or assessments [1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 12].
Recruits can receive payments ranging from several hundred to several thousand US dollars per report, with higher compensation for more sensitive data [2, 3, 8, 10, 11, 12]. Targets include holders of security clearances, military personnel—particularly in the Indo-Pacific region—journalists, academics, think tank employees, and anyone with access to government or classified information [1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12]. Even unclassified but non-public information is considered valuable because it can be combined with other data to benefit Chinese military intelligence [1, 7, 10, 11, 12].
The espionage campaign risks harm to frontline personnel, threatens economic prosperity, and enables interference in democratic processes [10, 11, 12]. Individuals who have fallen prey to these schemes faced criminal prosecutions, job losses, and revocations of their security clearances [10, 11]. Earlier, UK MI5 identified two LinkedIn accounts, "Amanda Qiu" and "Shirly Shen," tied to the Chinese Ministry of State Security targeting UK personnel [3].
The joint warning on June 3 is described as unprecedented, differing from prior individual country advisories [2, 8, 9, 10]. UK Security Minister Dan Jarvis urged government and military staff to heed National Security Agency advice to detect online attacks and avoid compromising security, while MP Neil O'Brien cautioned, "If you are relatively inexperienced, you might not know what you are looking for. You might mistakenly believe the job invitation you get on LinkedIn is genuine" [3].
China’s government strongly denies the accusations, calling the espionage claims "fabricated," "malicious slander," and "groundless" [2, 8, 9, 10]. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London said, "所谓‘中国间谍威胁’的指控完全是捏造的，构成恶意诽谤," while Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning described the accusations as ironic given the Five Eyes' extensive spying worldwide [2, 10].
The alert follows earlier warnings such as UK MI5's November 2025 finding of Chinese spies using LinkedIn accounts against UK officials [3]. It also comes after US and UK officials met with Chinese counterparts in May to improve relations despite espionage concerns [5].
Last month, two Chinese-British dual nationals were convicted in London of spying for Beijing against Hong Kong dissidents; they are now awaiting sentencing [10, 11]. The Five Eyes agencies continue to urge vigilance among government and military personnel to recognize and avoid such recruitment attempts [3].
