The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) released a report on Monday, May 19, stating that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is actively implementing an intelligence operation by using fake job websites and social media platforms to recruit laid-off former federal employees.
Researchers warn that this “intelligence operation” involves a wide range of tactics, using shell companies, LinkedIn, and other tools to gather sensitive information about U.S. national security and corporate interests.
According to cybersecurity media outlet Cybersecurity Dive, Max Lesser, the Emerging Threats Senior Analyst at FDD, mentioned in an email that, “In the past, the CCP has made efforts to recruit current and former government employees, usually targeting those with sensitive information. But even resumes submitted by government employees may provide valuable non-sensitive information about the inner workings of the U.S. government for Beijing.”
The report indicates that this recruitment operation may have been a strategy Beijing has been using for over a decade. For example, in 2018, Singaporean Jun Wei Yeo used LinkedIn and a fake consulting company to receive over 400 resumes and recruit former federal employees from the U.S. military and other sensitive departments.
In 2020, Jun Wei Yeo pleaded guilty and was subsequently sentenced to 14 months in prison.
At the time, John Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security and a key figure in the U.S. Department of Justice’s “China Initiative,” stated in a release, “The Chinese (CCP) government used a variety of deceptive means to obtain sensitive information from unsuspecting Americans.”
He added, “Jun Wei Yeo was a core part of these schemes, using a professional networking website and a fake consulting company to entice Americans that the Chinese (CCP) government might be interested in. This is yet another example of the Chinese (CCP) government exploiting the openness of American society.”
In April of this year, U.S. law enforcement agencies issued a warning that the CCP is actively recruiting former federal employees for espionage activities through headhunting and job placement companies, revealing a network consisting of five companies, including an internet service provider and four described as headhunting or consulting firms based in the U.S., Singapore, and Japan.