MI5 has issued a warning to UK lawmakers about Chinese intelligence operatives who are utilizing LinkedIn and recruitment fronts to conduct information gathering and long-term relationship building. In correspondence with members of the House of Commons, Speaker Lindsay Hoyle stated that MI5’s new ‘espionage alert’ indicates Chinese nationals are employing LinkedIn profiles to carry out extensive outreach on behalf of the Ministry of State Security. The alert underscores the targeted and widespread nature of these activities, emphasizing the use of professional networking sites, recruitment agents, and consultants as fronts for espionage.
Home Office Minister Dan Jarvis mentioned that in addition to parliamentary staff, economists, think tank consultants, and government officials have also been targeted. He announced that the government is taking steps to counter these risks, including investing £17,000,000 to update encrypted technology used by civil servants to protect sensitive work. Opposition parties have criticized the government’s response, arguing that authorities are not doing enough and are overly cautious in their approach to avoid jeopardizing trade relations with China.