WASHINGTON: The United States’ top spy catcher said Chinese espionage agencies are using fake LinkedIn accounts to try to recruit Americans with access to government and commercial secrets, and the company should shut them down.
William Evanina, the US counter-intelligence chief, told Reuters in an interview that intelligence and law enforcement officials have told LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft Corp., about China’s “super aggressive” efforts on the site.
He said the Chinese campaign includes contacting thousands of LinkedIn members at a time, but he declined to say how many fake accounts US intelligence had discovered, how many Americans may have been contacted and how much success China has had in the recruitment drive.
German and British authorities have previously warned their citizens that Beijing is using LinkedIn to try to recruit them as spies. But this is the first time a US official has publicly discussed the challenge in the United States and indicated it is a bigger problem than previously known.
Evanina said LinkedIn should look at copying the response of Twitter, Google and Facebook, which have all purged fake accounts allegedly linked to Iranian and Russian intelligence agencies.
“I recently saw that Twitter is canceling, I don’t know, millions of fake accounts, and our request would be maybe LinkedIn could go ahead and be part of that,” said Evanina, who heads the US National Counter-Intelligence and Security Center.
It is highly unusual for a senior US intelligence official to single out an American-owned company by name and publicly recommend it take action. LinkedIn boasts 562 million users in more than 200 counties and territories, including 149 million US members.
Evanina did not, however, say whether he was frustrated by LinkedIn’s response or whether he believes it has done enough.
LinkedIn’s head of trust and safety, Paul Rockwell, confirmed the company had been talking to US law enforcement agencies about Chinese espionage efforts. Earlier this month, LinkedIn said it had taken down “less than 40” fake accounts whose users were attempting to contact LinkedIn members associated with unidentified political organizations. Rockwell did not say whether those were Chinese accounts.
“We are doing everything we can to identify and stop this activity,” Rockwell told Reuters. “We’ve never waited for requests to act and actively identify bad actors and remove bad accounts using information we uncover and intelligence from a variety of sources including government agencies.”
Rockwell declined to provide numbers of fake accounts associated with Chinese intelligence agencies. He said the company takes “very prompt action to restrict accounts and mitigate and stop any essential damage that can happen” but gave no details.
LinkedIn “is a victim here,” Evanina said. “I think the cautionary tale ... is, ‘You are going to be like Facebook. Do you want to be where Facebook was this past spring with congressional testimony, right?’” he said, referring to lawmakers’ questioning of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Russia’s use of Facebook to meddle in the 2016 US elections.
China’s foreign ministry disputed Evanina’s allegations.
“We do not know what evidence the relevant US officials you cite have to reach this conclusion. What they say is complete nonsense and has ulterior motives,” the ministry said in a statement.
Chief US spy catcher says China using LinkedIn to recruit Americans
Chief US spy catcher says China using LinkedIn to recruit Americans
- German and British authorities have previously warned their citizens that Beijing is using LinkedIn to try to recruit them as spies
- It is highly unusual for a senior US intelligence official to single out an American-owned company by name and publicly recommend it take action
Media watchdogs condemn Israeli airstrike that killed 3 journalists in Gaza, call for investigation
- International Press Institute, Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders among organizations demanding urgent action
DUBAI: Media watchdogs including the International Press Institute, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders have spoken out against Israel’s treatment of media workers following an airstrike that killed 3 journalists in Gaza on Wednesday.
Those killed were Mohammed Salah Qashta, Abdul Raouf Shaat and Anas Ghneim.
The Israeli military said the attack targeted what it had identified as “several suspects” operating a drone and “affiliated with Hamas.”
According to eyewitnesses, the journalists were using a drone to record aid distribution by the Egyptian Relief Committee when the strike hit one of the committee’s vehicles.
The IPI called for an “immediate and credible investigation” and renewed pressure on the international community to take “concrete actions” to hold Israel accountable.
IPI executive director Scott Griffen said the Israeli government has “failed to credibly investigate attacks on journalists” and that the “international community has failed to hold Israel to account for its pattern of targeting and killing journalists.”
He urged strong action, saying that “it is long past time for the international community to take concrete steps to end the cycle of complete impunity for killings of journalists in Gaza.”
The International Federation of Journalists and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate also condemned the killings and attacks on journalists, calling for an immediate investigation.
The IFJ appealed to all “combatants in this conflict to do their utmost to safeguard journalists and media professionals,” said IFJ general secretary Anthony Bellanger.
“Media workers in areas of armed conflict must be treated and protected as civilians and allowed to perform their work without interference,” he added.
The PJS said that the direct shelling of the journalists’ vehicle constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity under international humanitarian law, in violation of the Geneva Conventions and UN resolutions that guarantee the protection of journalists during armed conflicts.
The syndicate called on the International Criminal Court to open “urgent and serious investigations” and to “issue arrest warrants against those responsible for the killing of journalists.”
It also urged the UN and other international organizations to take action “rather than limiting their response to statements of condemnation.”
The CPJ condemned the strike, which took place amid a ceasefire, said regional director Sara Qudah.
“Israel, which possesses advanced technology capable of identifying its targets, has an obligation under international law to protect journalists,” she said.
On Thursday, CPJ and RSF called on the 29 member states of the Media Freedom Coalition, in a joint letter, to take concrete steps toward guaranteeing media access to the Gaza Strip.
The move comes ahead of the Israeli Supreme Court hearing on Jan. 26 that will determine whether the press will have independent access to Gaza.
The signatories asked governments to send official representatives to the Jan. 26 hearing and to prioritize press freedom in their engagement with the new technocratic government, formed under a US-backed plan to govern Gaza.
They also urged states to ensure that the International Stabilization Force applies UN Security Council Resolution 2222, which recognizes journalists as civilians during armed conflict and affirms their right to protection and access.
“The inaction of states around the world encourages censorship and sets a dangerous precedent for other conflicts, to the detriment of civilian populations, humanitarian aid and political decisions based on verified facts,” said RSF director general Thibaut Bruttin.
More than 200 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed since the start of the war in October 2023, according to multiple reports.
