China Recruits Thousands of Spies Using LinkedIn
The Chinese are reportedly using LinkedIn to do mass recruitment of spies worldwide. Who are they targeting?
In May 2019, Kevin Patrick Mallory, a former covert case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), was sentenced to 20 years in jail for spying for China.
Mallory was recruited by the Chinese in February 2017 through LinkedIn by a Chinese agent posing as a think tank representative. According to a New York Times (NYT) article, Mallory was only one out of tens of thousands of potential spies the Chinese has attempted to recruit using LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is the only foreign social media allowed in China
LinkedIn allows Chinese censorship of its content, making it the only major western social media allowed to be accessible and operate in China. Such censorship cooperation leads to the blocking of posts and profiles frowned upon by Beijing.
Earlier this year, LinkedIn had blocked the account of a Chinese activist based in New York. Zhou Fengsuo was a student leader who survived the Tiananmen incident in China 30 years ago. He currently runs a human rights organization that advocates for political prisoners in China.
