7 ms·
Female spies are waging 'sex warfare' to steal Silicon Valley secrets
- nreece 11mo agohttps://archive.is/2LCPb https://archive.is/2LCPb
- alganet 11mo agoI already said this before: You're a dirty ass computer nerd, and a beautiful woman approaches you? Definitely a trap. Maybe a spy, maybe a scammer, maybe someone insane. Same with friendships, all sorts of things. Someone that's super into the same things as you and appears to help you and encourage you like a friend you never had? That's not a friend, guarantee you.
- djohnston 11mo agoDownvoted by marks XD
- reaktivo 11mo ago> Definitely a trap. Maybe a spy, maybe a scammer, maybe someone insane. You fail to imagine that someone who threats you like shit can also be any of those things.
- alganet 11mo agoMaybe I just didn't mentioned it.
- dmpk2k 11mo agoMaybe my circle is unusual, but almost none of the programmers I know live down to the popular stereotypes. Most of them are popular, and a third are jacked. You need to get out more for your own good.
- alganet 11mo agoMost programmers are not worth spying on or even scamming. That's fine. "dirty ass programmer" contrasted with "beautiful woman" is a stereotypical example, but not a rule. It represents an asymmetry in typical social interactions. If you're getting much more than you deserve, it's a trap. Got it?
- dingaling 11mo agoThe State Dept advice for personnel going on foreign assignments used to be quite direct, but pragmatic: "if you're a 4/10 in the USA, you're still a 4/10 abroad".
- dgrin91 11mo agoI kind of presumed that 'sex warfare' (aka seduction) was a standard aspect of espionage (even though no one openly acknowledges it), so this seems like nothing new
- arethuza 11mo agoRobert Baer's book "See No Evil" goes into a lot of detail about how espionage actually works: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_No_Evil_(Baer_book) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_No_Evil_(Baer_book)
- decimalenough 11mo agoThe popular image of seductive spies a la Bond girls is that they target senior government officials, businessmen and diplomats, not pasty IT geeks.
- IAmBroom 11mo agoAnd the popular image of jewel thieves is that they universally drop down from the ceiling, instead of entering from a cherrypicker truck through a smashed window.
- TheOtherHobbes 11mo agoBusinessmen and diplomats don't know the API keys.
- red-iron-pine 11mo ago80% of gub'mnt stuff is in FedRAMP so you hit the IT nerds and have them talk to you all day about how they herd some sort of VM/container solution, and then drop a USB into their laptop while sleeping. the actual Feds gets training about this but the contractors are made of swiss cheese and have tons of holes. get on tinder near any military base and the number of attractive women of indeterminate russian/central asian/east asian extraction are far higher than you'd think for places like Yuma or Everett or Oklahoma
- IAmBroom 11mo agoAnd it's traditionally called a "honeypot", not "sex warfare", but that is clearly a clickbait decision.
- rapsey 11mo agoA funny thread about this theme: https://x.com/HououinTyouma/status/1978942235413561393 https://x.com/HououinTyouma/status/1978942235413561393 On a serious note. The Chinese will go to great lengths to steal tech that they want. I have heard some interesting stories regarding fake cell towers and phone tapping next to factories and not for some crazy important tech either. Just something the Chinese did not yet know how to do and wanted to compete without spending years of R&D.
- trippyballs 11mo agoso if i become a cracked engineer there is chance of precipitation.
- codyklimdev 11mo agoThat's the spirit!
- hbarka 11mo agoThis sounds so fantastical and almost nonsense. Marrying and having kids all as a ruse? I smell propaganda or tall tales of weekend Ian Flemings.
- kitd 11mo agoThey are known as sleeper agents - in this case "sleeper" being particularly apposite.
- ChrisMarshallNY 11mo agoRussia is known for doing exactly that (not a story). Looks like China is borrowing from the same playbook. China has also planted “sleeper” spies, who join companies at a junior level, then rise through the ranks, until they can access real stuff. Wouldn’t surprise me, if the US and Israel have done the same. America has a bling problem; especially younger folks. It’s our Achilles heel. There are Americans who will sell out our nation for a pittance, just so they can strut around, looking cool.
- tessierashpool9 11mo agoMaybe I should try the same, join company at junior level, rise through the ranks until finally some Russian and Chinese spies come an seduce me.
- TheOtherHobbes 11mo agoEnjoying the seduction while being aware of it and "accidentally" failing to provide any required info would be an interesting reverse UNO. Although you would run the risk of being murdered. So there's that.
- tessierashpool9 11mo agothere always has to be a catch ... I'm up for it nonetheless!
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- nakamoto_damacy 11mo agoexcept Silicon Valley is not where its at.. i can see it for military contractors and scientists at national labs but not Silicon Valley unless the target is working on quantum computers or true frontier AI (not OpenAI bs lol)
- bjourne 11mo agoBritish tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch.
- defrost 11mo agoErr, you might want to at least watch Succession if you can't keep up with the IRL drama. In September 2023, News Corp reported that Rupert Murdoch would retire from the board of News Corporation. He would also retire from the board of Fox Corporation and his son Lachlan Murdoch would replace him on both boards. The retirement would take effect in November 2023. ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succession_of_Rupert_Murdoch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succession_of_Rupert_Murdoch The siblings voting rights in NewsCorp are inactive / on hold or somesuch and Lachlan has his block and his dad's, and there's a slew of detail.
- bjourne 11mo agoYou're probably right. I trusted Google's summary: "Rupert Murdoch's News Corp owns the British newspaper The Times and its sister paper, The Sunday Times. Both are published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK." which might be incorrect.
- rsynnott 11mo agoThat's all correct. The only slightly questionable bit might be control of News Corp, but, realistically, it's not unreasonable to consider it to still be Rupert Murdoch's.
- rsynnott 11mo agoUnusually for a Murdoch thing, not a tabloid; while I'd be _somewhat_ suspicious of its output, especially its commentary, it's not in the same class as things like The Sun or Fox; closer to WSJ (also Murdoch) in terms of editorial independence/attachment to reality.
- sixhobbits 11mo agoReminds me of a scene from Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (great book) ... "Preparing my report," Lawrence says. "Doesn't do me any good to make observations if I don't send them out." "Quite right," Margaret says thoughtfully. This is an excellent time to stoke the chapel's pathetic iron stove. He puts in a few scoops of precious coal, his worksheet, and the page from the one-time pad that he has just used to do the encryption. "Should warm up now," he says. "Oh, lovely," Margaret says, "I'm all shivery." Lawrence recognizes this as his cue to initiate a rescue operation. About fifteen seconds later, he is up there in the hammock with Margaret. To the great surprise of neither one of them, the quarters are awkward and tight. There is some flopping around which ends with Lawrence on his back and Margaret on top of him, her thigh between his. She is shocked to discover that he has an erection. Ashamed, apparently, that she did not anticipate his need. "You poor dear!" she exclaims. "Of course! How could I have been so dense! You must have been so lonely here." She kisses his cheek, which is nice since he is too stunned to move. "A brave warrior deserves all the support we civilians can possibly give him," she says, reaching down with one hand to open his fly. Then she pulls the grey wool over her head and burrows to a new position. Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse is stunned by what happens next. He gazes up at the ceiling of the chapel through half-closed eyes and thanks God for having sent him what is obviously a German spy and an angel of mercy rolled into one adorable package. When it's finished, he opens his eyes again and takes a deep breath of cold Atlantic air. He is seeing everything around him with newfound clarity. Clearly, Margaret is going to do wonders for his productivity on the cryptological front--if he can only keep her coming back.
- fxtentacle 11mo agoPeople seem to forget just how rural the Chinese countryside is. Just showing up as a western-looking guy in the right club in Singapore is enough to get marriage offers. I don’t think there’s any evil plan, just some truly desperate women trying to escape their future.
- rubansk 11mo agoI’m singaporean and have never heard about “marriage offers” in clubs being a thing. Maybe I’m going to the wrong ones.
- 4gotunameagain 11mo ago[flagged]
- 55555 11mo agoActually this stereotype is about Chinese women. Thai women aren't that materialistic, and where it is true, it only applies to poor Thai women, who are attracted to the man because he's probably 1,000X richer than her, which would be attractive to a poor woman from anywhere. If a prince from Lichenstein came to rural USA, he'd have no trouble dating. This thread is bizarre and confusing. There's only been like 5 posts and already people are conflating rural Chinese, Singaporeans, and Thais.
- 4gotunameagain 11mo agoIt takes only a single documentary to disprove your claim that this is just a stereotype. There are so many about cringe westerners that buy thai wives.
- IAmBroom 11mo ago"Thai women aren't that materialistic" is incongruous with the West's image of Thailand as the home of pervasive prostitution, trafficked or otherwise. Which is more accurate?
- tomhow 11mo ago
- deleted 11mo ago[deleted]
- nabla9 11mo agoI'm sure spies also operate on platforms like OnlyFans and can extract secrets even without physical interaction. The number of lonely male tech workers who engage in parasocial relationships online is not insignificant. Twenty years ago, I never would have believed that people would pay money just for some written or verbal acknowledgment from someone on the internet. Attractive female whom men "support" for an illusory relationship can milk thousands from some people. Getting security clearances after background check shows payments of this type is probably difficult.
- smallnix 11mo ago>Attractive female whom men What is it on the Internet with calling women 'females'? I'd understand if you had written 'males' and 'females' OR 'men' and 'women'. This indicates an attempt at objectification to me.
- ttoinou 11mo agoIsnt objectification required to make the point here? We’re talking about spies
- smallnix 11mo agoI should have been more precise, I meant one-sided objectification. I thought the point would come across with my 'OR' example.
- rich_sasha 11mo agoIn fairness OP also refers to men as "males". Then later "men". I don't have a view one way or another but maybe this time it isn't about women.
- smallnix 11mo agoI missed that one, thanks. This changes the optics on this for me. I guess I am more attuned to this when the topic is "'sex warfare' by beautiful Russian and Chinese young women on nerds".
- defrost 11mo agoWhat, no honeytrap catamites? The Peter Thiel's of SV are presumed immune from sexpionage by The Times?
- MrThoughtful 11mo agoApart from the "warfare" aspect, it is an interesting question whether the combination of "The man is attractive because of money" and "The woman is attractive because of her looks" can work. When I look at instances in my social circle, it seems like it doesn't really work. The relationships typically seem to suffer from a lack of mutual interests. The woman's beauty quickly dwindles as time passes. And the woman feels like she is missing out on a "real life" because all she does is be at the side of the man, instead of building her own career. The attraction of the man seems to dwindle quickly too. I know a few such couples, where the man told me that their sex life is dead, even though he wished it were different. What that tells me is that to work on your attractiveness, working on your career is not the way to go.
- fakedang 11mo agoIn my circle, I've seen it work, not in the same way though. Attractive women often go after the wealthiest men they can get. Likewise the minute a man goes out of a job, the strain in the marriage becomes immediate in a dual income household; less likely in households where the man was the sole breadwinner. The greater the difference in incomes and/or wealth, the more likely the marriage is going to last. And no, these aren't observations from some theocratic shithole in the Middle East or some ultra conservative Asian circles. These are from all the most liberal cities in the world.
- IAmBroom 11mo agoAnd there is data to suggest children of high earners tend to be more attractive, for just this reason. A woman who is a 9 out of 10, but not inclined or able to make her own high-earning career, can jump to the head of the income line by marrying a wealthy man. No one is surprised by this, but there are certainly some genetic consequences. Of course, children of high-income families have better access to dental care, pimple medicine, and so forth, in the US.
- satisfice 11mo agoMany people have no interest at all in building a career. (Of the four adults who live in my home, only I want to participate in the economy.) Lots of people, including, I bet, the majority of sober-minded women. Want security and emotional support. The match-up of pretty female and ambitious and successful male can and has worked through all of history. Yes beauty fades, which is why there better be other layers of connection, but that doesn’t have to be shared interests. I share very little interests in common with my wife of 34 years. We don’t connect in that way. We connect on the level of mutual respect, mutual need, and mutual service. Our society has become so disconnected from concepts like “respect” and “service.” We are amusing ourselves to death, as the saying goes. But these things work. They are timeless.
- wosined 11mo agoI mean, if that's the only option...
- stevenwilkin 11mo agohttps://archive.ph/o7Yp2 https://archive.ph/o7Yp2
- fullofbees 11mo agoI like that there's three examples. Two named, who are both men and then one woman who is mentioned by an anonymous source and if she's real, doesn't sound that unlike (at least in moral terms) to the crypto evangelist archetype.
- atleastoptimal 11mo agoThe only hard evidence (besides the story about the Russian woman marrying the guy in Aerospace) this article offers is some guy getting a few LinkedIn requests, and two Chinese women trying to get into a conference. There is nothing specific about Chinese/Russian spies seducing normal silicon valley tech workers or marrying them for trade secrets.
- rapsey 11mo agoAlso female chinese spies stealing tech secrets is a running joke in SV.
- qwery 11mo agoWhen a news article has an outrageous headline it's usually not worth reading. This article jumps right in the deep end, quoting a Silicon Valley insider: > I’m getting an enormous number of very sophisticated LinkedIn requests from the same type of attractive young Chinese woman, Now on the first read you might think "is that it?" -- is this seriously what the article is about? But the same insider also said: > It really seems to have ramped up recently. So yeah, like I said.
- lostmsu 11mo agoTo be fair the amount of that kind of spam over Telegram increased for me over the last year from non-existent to bi-weekly or so.
- freefaler 11mo agohttps://archive.is/NwtHM https://archive.is/NwtHM
- black_13 11mo ago[dead]
- helensmithus 11mo ago[flagged]