MI5 has warned that Chinese intelligence operatives are using mainstream recruitment websites including LinkedIn, Indeed and Upwork to pose as headhunters and trick UK government and military staff into revealing state secrets, according to a joint bulletin published Wednesday by the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.
The bulletin, issued by the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand security agencies, warns that undercover operatives acting on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) are posting fake analyst job advertisements, sifting through applicants’ CVs to identify those with security clearances or access to sensitive information, and then pressuring them to disclose non-public material.
“China’s spies seek to acquire privileged military, political and economic intelligence that can provide China with a strategic and tactical advantage,” the Five Eyes bulletin states.
According to the warning, the recruitment scheme unfolds in stages. Chinese agents first post fake job adverts on legitimate employment platforms. They then conduct virtual interviews to determine whether candidates have access to key areas of interest, such as government contacts or military activities. In the final stage, job seekers are asked to write paid “trial reports” on topics including China’s international relations and defence policy. Recruits are paid up to $1,000 per report through payment platforms, according to the bulletin.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said in a statement: “I urge all government and military personnel to follow the National Protective Security Authority’s advice to spot signs of online targeting and avoid inadvertently compromising our security.”
Jarvis added: “We have taken robust action to defend our country and will continue to tackle hostile actions from a range of states including China. A number of recent cases show the strength of the powers we have to bring to justice those that undertake acts on behalf of a foreign state.”
The workers potentially targeted range from government employees with security clearances to academics and think tank researchers, the bulletin warned.
In November 2025, Jarvis said MI5 had identified two LinkedIn profiles — named “Amanda Qiu” and “Shirly Shen” — being used on behalf of the MSS. Simon Whelband, a researcher for Conservative MP Neil O’Brien, told the BBC that one of the accounts had contacted him with a message written in poor English that included a job offer.
O’Brien told the BBC: “If you were more junior, you don’t know what you’re looking for. You might think it’s a genuine offer that’s made to you on LinkedIn.”
The UK government announced a £170 million upgrade to encrypted technology used in government business last year, as well as new protections against Chinese cybercrime. In September, a case involving two men accused of spying for China collapsed a week before trial after the Crown Prosecution Service said it could not obtain evidence from the government referring to China as a national security threat.
The warning comes as authorities in multiple Western nations have in recent months brought espionage cases involving Chinese intelligence operations. MSI previously reported that a UK border official and former Hong Kong officer was convicted of spying for China in May 2026, and that a man was convicted of running a secret Chinese police outpost in New York City the same month.