Lithuanian intelligence has reported that China has been reaching out to targets in Lithuania through LinkedIn. Typically, Chinese intelligence posing as fake Chinese companies will reach out to civil servants, information technology specialists, defense sector employees, scientists, and employees in other fields that are of interest to Chinese collection priorities. Employees in these fields receive offers to become consultants for fake companies. The consulting work appears to involve analytical assessments of trends and other information from a foreign country, including public and non-public political and military information. The offers include trips to China with all expenses paid. The goal of the intelligence service is to get these targets involved in espionage activity.
Analyst Notes
Lithuania lists this as a threat to their national security. It is likely that employees in other countries are targeted by Chinese intelligence services in the same way. In order to better protect data, it is important for companies to make employees aware of potential recruitment by fake companies in China, and regularly audit employees for outside employment activities. If an offer is received from a suspicious company, it should be verified for legitimacy and reported to the organization’s security department if it appears to be a trap. If one employee has been targeted, it is likely others in the company or organization will also be targeted. For more information, please visit: https://www.baltictimes.com/intelligence_report__china_s_intelligence_services_look_for_lithuanian_targets_on_linkedin/
