MI5 has issued a warning to UK lawmakers about Chinese intelligence using LinkedIn and recruitment fronts to target them for information gathering and long-term cultivation. The alert, delivered by House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, highlights the use of professional networking sites and consultants acting on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security.
The MI5 alert cited LinkedIn profiles of two women, Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen, and said other similar recruiters’ profiles were acting as fronts for espionage. Home Office Minister Dan Jarvis said that apart from parliamentary staff, others including economists, think tank consultants and government officials have been similarly targeted. Jarvis said the government is rolling out a series of measures to tackle the risk, including investing 170 million pounds ($224 million) to renew encrypted technology used by civil servants to safeguard sensitive work.
Opposition parties say authorities are not doing enough and are too wary of jeopardizing trade ties with China.
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