Summary
Overview
This episode of The Rest is Classified examines China's expanding espionage operations, focusing on how Chinese intelligence services use LinkedIn and other digital platforms to target Western officials, parliamentary staff, and even former intelligence officers. Hosts David McCloskey and Gordon Carrera analyze recent MI5 alerts about Chinese spying in the UK Parliament, the dramatic collapse of a high-profile espionage prosecution, and the scale of Chinese intelligence operations that now dwarf those of the Soviet KGB at its height.
LinkedIn as a Recruiting Tool: The Parliamentary Alert
MI5 issued an espionage alert to UK Parliament on November 18th, warning that Chinese intelligence was using fake LinkedIn profiles—including one posing as a global headhunter named 'Shirley'—to conduct outreach at scale. The profiles were allegedly controlled by China's Ministry of State Security, targeting parliamentary researchers, economists, and think tank employees with offers of paid consultancy work. This represents a shift from traditional Cold War espionage to digital trawling operations that can reach thousands of potential targets remotely with minimal risk.
- MI5 alert issued November 18th warning that two LinkedIn profiles were conducting outreach to build long-term relationships with UK parliamentary staff
- Profiles posed as recruitment agencies offering consultancy work, paid in cash or cryptocurrency
- Targets included parliamentary staff, economists, think tank employees, and geopolitical consultants
- The approach allows remote operations from Beijing or Shanghai with near-zero risk—if a profile is exposed, they simply create a new one
" try not to think too much just in terms of classic card carrying spies based out of the embassy in the John le Carré mold "
The Scale and Scope of Chinese Intelligence Operations
The hosts establish the unprecedented scale of Chinese espionage, revealing that China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) employs approximately 600,000 people—larger than the Soviet KGB at its height. The FBI opens a new China-related investigation every 10 hours and is currently running over 2,000 investigations with links to China. This massive apparatus combines traditional human intelligence with digital approaches, targeting everything from military secrets to commercial intellectual property, all designed to maintain Communist Party power and drive economic growth.
- FBI Director called Beijing 'the biggest long term threat to our national and economic security' at unprecedented 2022 public appearance with UK security chiefs
- MI5 running seven times more China-related investigations than just five years earlier
- FBI opens a new China investigation every 10 hours on average, with over 2,000 active cases
- China's Ministry of State Security employs approximately 600,000 people, larger than the Soviet KGB at its height (mid-400,000s)
" Beijing was, quote, the biggest long term threat to our national and economic security "
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