Five Eyes warns Chinese spies are using job websites to target UK staff

MI5 has warned that Chinese intelligence operatives are using recruitment websites to target UK government and military staff, in a joint bulletin issued with the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. The warning says fake analyst jobs are being posted on major platforms, including LinkedIn, Indeed and Upwork, to identify people with access to sensitive information. It says applicants are then pressured into revealing non-public details that could be of use to the Chinese military intelligence service.

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The bulletin was issued by the Five Eyes alliance, which brings together agencies from the UK, the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. It says the approach begins with fake job adverts, followed by scrutiny of CVs to find candidates worth exploiting. Virtual interviews are then used to test whether applicants have access to areas of interest, including government contacts or military activity.

In the final stage, job seekers are asked to write trial reports on subjects such as China's international relations or defence, and are paid up to $1,000 per report through payment platforms. Security Minister Dan Jarvis said government and military personnel should follow the National Protective Security Authority's advice to spot signs of online targeting and avoid compromising security. He said the government had taken robust action to defend the country and would continue to tackle hostile actions from a range of states, including China.

The bulletin says the tactic is not limited to officials, and could also affect academics, think-tank employees and security clearance holders. That broad target set suggests the campaign is aimed at people who may hold useful political, economic or military information. The warning matters because it points to a continuing effort to gather privileged intelligence through ordinary online hiring channels.

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Rather than relying only on traditional espionage methods, the alleged approach uses professional networking and freelance platforms to reach people who may not expect hostile contact. The bulletin says the aim is to acquire military, political and economic intelligence that could give China a strategic and tactical advantage. For the UK and its allies, that raises concerns about how sensitive information can be exposed outside secure workplaces.

The warning also follows earlier concerns about Chinese-linked activity on professional networking sites. In November, Jarvis said MI5 had identified two LinkedIn profiles being used on behalf of China's Ministry of State Security, named as Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen. A researcher for Conservative MP Neil O'Brien said one of the accounts had contacted him, and that the message appeared to be a job offer written in poor English.

O'Brien said younger or less experienced users might not realise the contact was suspicious. What remains unclear is how many people have been approached, whether any sensitive information has already been obtained, and how widely the campaign has been operating. The bulletin does not say the activity is confined to one platform or one sector, and it is not clear how many cases have been identified by the intelligence agencies.

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