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TL;DR: LinkedIn makes it really easy for Chinese spy agencies to identify suitable targets at companies or government orgs of interest and contact them innocuou
by 9nGQluzmnq3M 7y ago
TL;DR: LinkedIn makes it really easy for Chinese spy agencies to identify suitable targets at companies or government orgs of interest and contact them innocuously in the form of recruiters. While this much is by design, a LinkedIn profile also often has enough information to let them deduce that a person's career is not going well or they're in financial trouble, making them particularly susceptible to bribery or blackmail:
> For example, Kevin Mallory, a former CIA officer,
was sentenced to 20 years in prison for handing over
secret documents and confidential information to Chinese intelligence. His career was floundering and he
was in dire financial straits when he received a message from a fake account on LinkedIn in 2017. This fake
contact claimed to be working for a think tank that
was looking for foreign policy expertise. The targeted
ex-CIA officer travelled to China twice and was given
money and equipment to maintain his communications with the Chinese.
One point not raised by the article is that two can play at this game: LinkedIn is allowed to operate in China and has some 41 million users, and there's a local unicorn called Maimai (脉脉) that's increasingly popular as well.
- yesforwhat 7y ago> there's a local unicorn called Maimai (脉脉) that's increasingly popular as well. Let me guess, it's a shameless local clone that gives all user information to Chinese military intelligence?
- EastToWest 7y agoWhy don't you have a look yourself? https://maimai.cn/ https://maimai.cn/ Does it resemble LinkedIn to you?
- C1sc0cat 7y agoWhy would you have a real linkedin account if worked at such a sensitive job. As Bob Howard says in the laundry files HE and MO have a fake FB profile.
- segmondy 7y agoYou don't have to work a "sensitive job" to be a target. If you are a system admin / in security, leadership role, being on linkedin exposes you. I work in the payment industry and every so often I get the weirdest invites. I simply refuse to accept anyone I don't personally know and I have my profile locked down.
- michaelt 7y agoWhy would you have a real linkedin account if worked at such a sensitive job. Perhaps he made it to apply for one of the 194 jobs the CIA currently advertises on LinkedIn [1] for jobs like "Cyber Threat Analyst", "Polygraph Examiner", and "Targeting Officer" or to connect with the 1,110 other CIA employees LinkedIn lists. [1] https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/search?locationId=OTHERS%2Eworldwide&f_C=14068&trk=companyTopCard_top-card-button https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/search?locationId=OTHERS%2Ewor...
- kevin_thibedeau 7y agoI once had a Field Security Officer who identified themselves as such on their Linkedin profile. Boggles the mind why they did it. Another past FSO always lied to people and told them she was a secretary.
- throwawaywego 7y agohttps://gizmodo.com/job-networking-site-linkedin-filled-with-secret-nsa-pro-514057863 https://gizmodo.com/job-networking-site-linkedin-filled-with... > Want to know all the code names for America's massive intelligence gathering programs? Just browse through the "intelligence analysts" who post their resumes on the public career networking site LinkedIn.