‘China using LinkedIn to recruit Americans’
The Hindu, August 31, 2018
The U.S.’s top spy catcher said that Chinese espionage agencies are using fake LinkedIn accounts to try to recruit Americans with access to government and commercial secrets, and the company should shut them down.
William Evanina, the U.S. counterintelligence chief, told Reuters that intelligence and law enforcement officials have told LinkedIn about China’s “super-aggressive” efforts on the site.
He said 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 U.S. and indicated it is a bigger problem than previously known. Mr. Evanina said LinkedIn should look at copying the response of Twitter, Google and Facebook, which have all purged fake accounts allegedly linked to Iranian and Russian intelligence agencies.
China’s Foreign Ministry disputed the allegations. “We do not know what evidence the relevant U.S. officials you cite have to reach this conclusion. What they say is complete nonsense and has ulterior motives,” it said.
Link-https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/china-using-linkedin-to-recruit-americans/article24834475.ece
The U.S.’s top spy catcher said that Chinese espionage agencies are using fake LinkedIn accounts to try to recruit Americans with access to government and commercial secrets, and the company should shut them down.
William Evanina, the U.S. counterintelligence chief, told Reuters that intelligence and law enforcement officials have told LinkedIn about China’s “super-aggressive” efforts on the site.
He said 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 U.S. and indicated it is a bigger problem than previously known. Mr. Evanina said LinkedIn should look at copying the response of Twitter, Google and Facebook, which have all purged fake accounts allegedly linked to Iranian and Russian intelligence agencies.
China’s Foreign Ministry disputed the allegations. “We do not know what evidence the relevant U.S. officials you cite have to reach this conclusion. What they say is complete nonsense and has ulterior motives,” it said.
Link-https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/china-using-linkedin-to-recruit-americans/article24834475.ece
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