A spying operation carried out by Chinese intelligence services, aiming to obtain sensitive information about the EU and NATO by recruiting European personnel using fake profiles on LinkedIn, has been uncovered.
The operation was conducted by China’s Ministry of State Security, a European security source confirmed on Friday to AFP, corroborating information from the French publication Intelligence Online and the Belgian press.
Dozens of individuals who worked in European institutions or at NATO were approached on LinkedIn by Chinese spies who had created false profiles, the source explained.
Several of these individuals were recruited in France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Italy.
What the Chinese offered for information
Through this operation, "a large amount of data and important information could have reached China," Belgian Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden stated on Friday to AFP, confirming statements she made to the Belgian newspaper L'Echo.
One of the particularly active fake LinkedIn profiles was under the name "Kevin Zhang" and claimed to be the head of a fictitious consulting firm, "Oriental Consulting," based in Hong Kong.
Initially, the spies ordered paid reports or analysis notes from the recruited individuals, then requested non-public or even "classified" information from them.
The recruited individuals were paid with several hundred or thousand euros.
What Beijing wants to know
The subjects of interest for Chinese intelligence services mainly focused on the sanctions and other measures imposed by the European Union targeting China, as well as NATO's strategy in Asia, particularly concerning Taiwan.
"Over the years, thanks to a clever system, various officials, academics, and other influential figures from around the world have been approached by what turned out to be an agent of Chinese intelligence services," explained the Belgian Justice Minister.
"While in the past, such missions were mainly carried out by 'specialists,' the internet and numerous social platforms now provide fertile ground for major powers to secretly and at a cost persuade individuals to engage in espionage and spread propaganda," she added.