Intelligence service warns China is recruiting Canadians on LinkedIn to spy for Beijing unwittingly
- Canadian Security Intelligence Service issues warning on Twitter as the country grapples with several reports of foreign interference in domestic affairs
- CSIS says network of Chinese intelligence ‘proxies’ pose as human resource workers or job recruiters to approach potential targets
“High-value” Canadians are being unwittingly recruited online by Chinese intelligence officers to spy for Beijing, Canada’s national spy agency said in a rare warning issued on social media.
The latest allegations made by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) come as the country continues to grapple with numerous reports of Chinese interference in its domestic affairs – claims that Beijing has repeatedly and forcefully denied.
“The accusations have no basis in fact and are an unwarranted attack to discredit China. We call on the relevant Canadian agency to respect facts and stop speculation,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded in a statement this week.
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In a Twitter thread posted on June 21, CSIS detailed how Chinese intelligence officers were targeting Canadians both domestically and abroad in a bid to gain access to “confidential, privileged” information.
“They identify people who are actively looking for jobs in strategic sectors or who have high-value credentials,” CSIS said. “Be careful who you connect with on LinkedIn and all other online platforms.”
Through a network of Chinese intelligence “proxies” posing as human resource workers or job recruiters, Canadians are first approached on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, before the conversation moves to platforms such as WeChat or WhatsApp, CSIS said.
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Those targeted are then asked to write reports that could contain sensitive information for “consultants” and their “clients” – all of whom are Chinese intelligence officers – in exchange for payment.
“Intelligence officers may or may not reveal their true affiliation in order to preserve targets’ plausible deniability,” the agency said.
The warning came just one week after the head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the country’s national police force, said there were “100 plus” ongoing investigations into suspected foreign interference, although he stopped short of saying how many were connected to China.
Canada has been rocked in recent months by a series of leaked intelligence reports detailing how Beijing allegedly meddled in two previous federal elections in favour of the governing Liberal Party, as well as other reports of since-closed “secret Chinese police stations” operating across the country.
Beijing has maintained that it respects Canada’s domestic affairs while calling the allegations “politically driven” and part of a campaign to “smear China”.
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