A joint public warning issued by “Five Eyes,” an alliance between the intelligence agencies of five anglophone countries including the U.K. and U.S., says China-linked spies are using job boards to pry classified information or other secrets out of its targets. The report claims China’s military intelligence operation is finding people in places like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Upwork, and offering what is essentially gig work, but then pressuring applicants to do sketchier and sketchier things to keep their paychecks coming—in this case potentially committing espionage. Five Eyes claims that those who have take these gigs have already been subject to “criminal prosecutions, job losses, and security-clearance revocation.” The report warns of the potential for “prosecution under national laws such as those relating to espionage.”
It’s a disquieting new overlap between being scammed and being recruited as a leaker, which, while it can get you a lengthy prison sentence or even the death penalty for crimes against your country, does at least have a history of paying well. For instance, before being imprisoned for the rest of his life, FBI agent and KGB mole Robert Hanssen, for instance, received $1.4 million, according to the FBI.
