Don’t miss the full story, whose reporting from Sylvia Hui at The Associated Press is the basis of this AI-assisted article.
Britain’s MI5 intelligence agency has issued an espionage alert warning that Chinese spies are actively using LinkedIn and professional networking sites to target and recruit U.K. lawmakers and government officials on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security.
Some key facts:
• MI5 issued an espionage alert to U.K. lawmakers about Chinese nationals using LinkedIn profiles to conduct outreach on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security.
• The alert named two women, Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen, whose profiles were allegedly acting as fronts for espionage activities.
• Targets include parliamentary staff, economists, think tank consultants and government officials, not just lawmakers.
• The British government is investing 170 million pounds ($224 million) to renew encrypted technology for civil servants to safeguard sensitive work.
• A prosecution of two men charged with spying for Beijing collapsed in September because the government refused to testify under oath that China was a threat to national security.
• In January 2022, MI5 issued a similar alert about London-based lawyer Christine Lee, who was accused of facilitating covert donations to British parties on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.
• MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum stated that Chinese state actors present a national security threat to the U.K. “every day.”
• British intelligence officials have steadily increased warnings about espionage threats from China, which is the U.K.’s third-largest trading partner.
READ MORE: MI5 warns lawmakers that Chinese spies are trying to reach them via LinkedIn
This article is written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence based solely on Washington Times original reporting and wire services. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Ann Wog, Managing Editor for Digital, at awog@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
