It is said that LinkedIn is being used for spy recruiting purposes by the Chinese Government.
What We Know:
- LinkedIn is a social networking site that is typically used within business communities to recruit potential employees, display professional accolades and create connections. The platform has found itself in headlines for reasons that are not good.
- Last week, the New York Times reported that a former policy official for the Obama Administration received messages from someone on LinkedIn, offering to fly them to China for “well-paid” opportunities.
- LinkedIn is the only major American social media platform that is not blocked in China due to its’ censoring promises.
- Chinese agents are allegedly reaching out to former agents and others whom are seeking employment in government or with a background in Foreign Policy. Chinese agents and spies set their LinkedIn profiles up in a way that looks legitimate, whilst pretending to be corporate leaders.
- The Justice Department charged Yanjun Xu, a Chinese intelligence agent, last October with economic espionage after he recruited a GE Aviation engineer in a relationship that began on LinkedIn, according to the indictment.
- The Foreign Intelligence Services of China are looking for those with viable information they want, whether the information is classified or not.
LinkedIn is being called the “ultimate playground” to collect spies and gain any information. “We enforce our policies, which are very clear: The creation of a fake account or fraudulent activity with an intent to mislead or lie to our members is a violation of our terms of service,” LinkedIn spokeswoman Nicole Leverich told New York Times.
