U.S. national intelligence agencies say Chinese spies are logging onto online job platforms like LinkedIn to recruit Americans who may have sensitive military information.
They’re offering gig work that eventually leads to selling national secrets.
Dr. Ram Chellappa admits there’s a bit of James Bond in it all.
“Well, to some extent, maybe spies being spies without meaning to,” Chellappa said.
He’s an artificial intelligence specialist at Emory University.
He has taken notice of an alert just pushed out by the FBI and its partner intelligence agencies in Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
It’s a warning about Chinese spies looking on job platform sites to recruit people who may have secret information.
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“You think there’s a lot of money being exchanged?” Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen asked Chellappa.
“Oh, I’m pretty sure there’s a significant amount of money being exchanged. Probably not at the beginning, but it depends on what they find a person has at their disposal,” Chellappa said.
Western intelligence agencies say the targets—with sensitive government or military knowledge—are scammed or lured at first.
But Chellappa said they eventually realize what they’re involved in.
“Does this rise to treason?” Petersen asked Chellappa.
“Well, I’m no lawyer, but clearly if you’re sharing national security-type information, this would be very problematic,” Chellappa said.
The FBI said anybody involved in this could face prosecution for espionage.
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