Foreign spies are posing as consulting firms, think tanks, corporate recruiters, and more to exploit U.S. soldiers, Army civilians, and family members, the Army deputy chief of staff for intelligence said in a recent memo.
“Especially in the context of the recent lapse in appropriations and government shutdown, our adversaries are looking online to identify individuals seeking new employment opportunities, expressing dissatisfaction or describing financial insecurity,” Lt. Gen. Anthony R. Hale wrote in a Nov. 13 message sent to more than a million soldiers and Army-related civilians.
Current and former federal workers, especially those with security clearances, should be aware of these attempts, the message said. “If the offer seems flattering, urgent, exclusive or too good to be true, it probably is.”
The Army publicized Hale’s message in a Monday statement.
His warning was issued after months of Defense Department changes that fired some civilian employees, induced thousands more to leave, and left many others shaken. The message went out just after the government reopened from a record-long shutdown on Nov. 12.
In June 2024, a transmission provided by the Army indicated that it had observed such foreign intelligence activity for some time. It said adversaries use less-traditional social-messaging platforms like Reddit and Discord to pose seemingly innocuous questions to servicemembers that increase in sensitivity over time.
Requesters “may rely on opinion-based questions such as asking [Department of the Army] personnel for their opinion on topics such as Taiwan, Ukraine or Israel to gather information,” it said. The espionage efforts do not target only classified information and aim to access various forms of sensitive data like battle plans, contracts and research.
Army members and their families may also be extended “disproportionate payment” offers, such as $1,000 for a two-page whitepaper or an all-expense paid trip to destinations like China, Hong Kong or Macao, the 2024 message said.
A suspected Chinese intelligence operation has tried to recruit former U.S. federal employees and public policy experts through fake websites and job postings, Nextgov/FCW first reported in September.
Those recruitment efforts — which involved low-quality websites representing non-existent companies — appear to have picked up steam amid Department of Government Efficiency-fueled employee departures and terminations over the last several months.
The FBI previously told Nextgov/FCW that it’s aware of foreign adversaries using employment sites and social media platforms to identify knowledgeable individuals to target for recruitment.
“Often those targeted have security clearances and access to classified information. But our adversaries also are looking for experts in business and academia with technical expertise,” the bureau said.
Chinese intelligence entities have deployed online efforts to recruit unwitting current and former federal employees, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center said in April. In March, CNN reported that foreign adversaries, including China and Russia, accelerated efforts to recruit disgruntled federal workers in national security roles.
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