Data can place the lives of frontline military or other personnel at risk:
FBI warns that China is luring Western military and intelligence operatives with 'gig-work' job offers to steal secrets

Date:
Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:05:00 +0000

Description:
China is using fake organizations to pay for intelligence reports, with
higher payments for more secrets.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter China is luring military and intelligence workers with 'gig-work' jobs Employees are lured through interviews and written assessments China pieces together separate reports
into 'a comprehensive operational picture' China is targeting Western military, intelligence, and government employees with honeypot job offers in order to steal secrets and gather information on government policy, as well
as military strategy, capabilities and installations.

You may already be familiar with North Koreas attempts to sneak into Western tech companies through job applications, but China has switched up the playbook to lure those looking for employment in the foreign policy and defense analyst fields. The problem has become so severe that the FBI, alongside the Five Eyes intelligence community, has issued a warning against the employment scam in order to prevent the unintentional sharing of classified and privileged information with China. Latest Videos From Watch full video here: China luring operatives to share secrets The warning states that Chinese intelligence operatives are posing as employees of private consultancies, think tanks or human resources offering lucrative job offers through job ads posted on professional networking platforms, online hiring, and freelance gig work websites such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and Upwork.

Once the lure has attracted a potential target, an interview is scheduled where the target is probed for their links to government contacts, or about their military roles and unit activities, and information about their home base or naval vessel. You may like Hacker claims to have stolen over 10 petabytes of advanced Chinese military data Chinese national exposed by NASA investigation in serial defense software theft phishing campaign FBI urges users not to download Chinese mobile apps over privacy risks

The candidates who pass the interview stage will then be invited to partake
in a written assessment focused on analyzing Chinas bilateral relations, geopolitical issues relating to the Indo-Pacific region, or on wider defense issues and international trade.

If the written assessment shows promise, the hirers will attempt to probe the potential employee for more privileged information, and will use the pretext of moving to a secure encrypted messaging platform to build trust. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
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Once the relationship is solidified, the candidates will begin receiving payments for their reports, with the FBI noting that significantly higher payments will be made for sensitive information. The payments are often
routed through third-party payment platforms, such as PayPal, Payoneer,
Zelle, Skrill, and Wise. The recruiters will also use Western Union, e-transfer and cryptocurrency transfers.

The strategy of the Chinese intelligence operatives is not to probe sensitive information from a single source, which could arouse suspicion, but to use multiple reports from multiple candidates to piece together a comprehensive operational picture.

But it isnt just military and intelligence personnel who are the targets of this scheme, as those with privileged access to government information also include academics, journalists, freelance writers, think tank employees, or anyone with links to defense, security, policy and economic sectors. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/data-can-place-the-lives-of-frontline-m ilitary-or-other-personnel-at-risk-fbi-warns-that-china-is-luring-western-mili tary-and-intelligence-operatives-with-gig-work-job-offers-to-steal-secrets


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