Summary
Overview
This episode examines the case of Kevin Mallory, a former CIA officer recruited by Chinese intelligence through LinkedIn, illustrating how China's MSS uses digital platforms to identify, approach, and ultimately turn intelligence targets. The hosts explore how Mallory's recruitment progressed from an initial LinkedIn message to in-person meetings in Shanghai, the provision of covert communications devices, and eventually his arrest when the FBI discovered evidence of espionage on the very phone he voluntarily showed them.
LinkedIn as China's Digital Recruitment Tool
The episode opens by revisiting how LinkedIn serves as a primary platform for Chinese intelligence services to identify and approach potential recruits. Just as in the UK Parliament cases discussed previously, the Mallory case demonstrates how MSS officers use professional networking platforms to initiate relationships under the guise of legitimate business opportunities, creating plausible deniability for both the recruiter and the target while building toward traditional espionage operations.
- LinkedIn enables Chinese intelligence to start relationships and convert them into traditional human intelligence operations
- Kevin Mallory received a LinkedIn message from a Chinese headhunter in 2017, similar to UK Parliament targets
" LinkedIn is really the answer to this question of how in the world would China's intelligence services find and eventually recruit a former CIA officer. "
Kevin Mallory's Background and Vulnerabilities
Mallory's career trajectory and personal circumstances made him an ideal target for recruitment. After graduating from Brigham Young University in 1981, he worked for the State Department, CIA as a China specialist with fluent Mandarin, and the Defense Intelligence Agency before losing his top secret clearance in 2012. By 2017, he was struggling financially with over $200,000 in mortgage debt and $30,000 in credit card debt, running a struggling consultancy called Global X LLC.
- Mallory graduated from Brigham Young University in 1981 and became a China specialist with fluent Mandarin
- He worked for the State Department, CIA as a case officer, and Defense Intelligence Agency
- Lost his top secret clearance in October 2012 and started consulting firm Global X LLC
- By 2017, he owed over $200,000 on his mortgage and had $30,000 in credit card debt
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