MI5 points new China espionage warning after spies pose as headhunters on LinkedIn to focus on MPs | EUROtoday

Chinese spies are posing as headhunters on LinkedIn to focus on MPs as a part of a “widespread” operation to entry details about the UK authorities, MI5 has warned.

The safety service has issued a brand new alert over Chinese espionage that has been circulated to MPs and friends after it discovered two recruiters had been utilizing LinkedIn profiles to succeed in out to these in Westminster on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS).

In a letter to MPs, Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle stated Chinese state actors are “relentless” in their attempts to “intervene with our processes and affect exercise at Parliament”.

He said profiles under the names of Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen were being “used to conduct outreach at scale” on behalf of China, will similar profiles also acting as fronts for espionage.

Meanwhile, security minister Dan Jarvis said the government will not tolerate “covert and calculated” attempts by Beijing to interfere with the UK’s sovereign affairs as he vowed to “disrupt, degrade and protect” against China’s “dangerous and unrestrained offensive cyber ecosystem”.

Addressing the Commons on Tuesday, Mr Jarvis said the government will “take all necessary measures to protect our national interests, our citizens and our democratic way of life, including working with our allies and partners.”

He said parliamentary staff, economists, think tank employees and government officials have all been targeted as he warned that China had a “low threshold” for what information is useful, as it attempts to build a wider picture.

The latest effort follows a pattern which includes the targeting of parliamentary emails in 2021 and attempted interference by Christine Lee in 2022, he told the Commons.

The Commons speaker claimed the Chinese MSS was “actively reaching out to people in our group”, arguing they seek to “accumulate info and lay the groundwork for long-term relationships, utilizing skilled networking websites, recruitment brokers and consultants performing on their behalf”.

Mr Jarvis announced plans to coordinate a new Counter Political Interference and Espionage Action Plan to disrupt and deter spying, which would see the intelligence services deliver security briefings for political parties and issue new guidance to election candidates to help them recognise, resist and report suspicious activity.

The intelligence services will also work with professional networking sites to make them a more hostile operating environment for spies, while ministers will tighten rules on political donations through a new Elections Bill.

Some £170m will be invested in renewing the sovereign and encrypted technology that civil servants use to safeguard sensitive work, the government announced on Tuesday.

A further £130m will be put into boosting Counter Terrorism Policing’s ability to enforce the National Security Act, as well as funding the National Cyber Security Centre and National Protective Security Authority’s work with critical businesses to protect their intellectual property.

Mr Jarvis said the recent Cyber Security and Resilience Bill would provide safeguards and he did not rule out sanctions as a penalty against those involved in spying.

But MPs also heard that China is the UK’s third largest trading partner as the minister said it was in the UK’s “long-term strategic interest” to trade and work with China on shared interests, including the environment, research and crime.

It comes after the collapse of a case against two men accused of spying for China in September, sparking a row over Britain’s links with Beijing.

Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry were charged by the CPS in April last year with spying under the Official Secrets Act 1911, when they were accused of collecting and communicating information which could be “useful to an enemy”. Both denied the charges.

But the Crown Prosecution Service said the case could not progress because the government’s deputy national security adviser Matt Collins was unwilling to classify China as an active threat to national security – raising questions about Britain’s willingness to confront China as Sir Keir’s government looks to build closer ties with the country.

Mr Collins has said he had provided evidence of a “range of threats” posed by China but had not described the country as a “generic” threat because that was not the position of the then-Tory government.

Sir Lindsay said the Chinese MSS has been trying to contact individuals in Parliament through two recruiters named as Amanda Qiu from BR-YR Executive Search and Shirly Shen of Internship Union, who had been “using LinkedIn profiles to conduct outreach at scale on behalf of MSS”.

The letter said: “I am writing to you now to draw your attention to the attached Espionage Alert issued by the Security Service, MI5, to the parliamentary community.

“This alert highlights how the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) is actively reaching out to people in our group. Their intention is to gather info and lay the groundwork for long-term relationships, utilizing skilled networking websites, recruitment brokers and consultants performing on their behalf.

“The alert names two recruitment head-hunters: Amanda Qiu (BR-YR Executive Search) and Shirly Shen (Internship Union). Both are identified to be utilizing LinkedIn profiles to conduct outreach at scale on behalf of MSS.

“The alert additionally highlights that different related profiles are performing as fronts for espionage. MI5 has issued this alert as a result of the exercise is focused and widespread.”

He added: “It is of the utmost importance that we all understand how this activity happens and how to protect ourselves against it. We all have a responsibility to keep Parliament safe.

“The Lord Speaker is also writing in similar terms to members’ staff in the House of Lords.”

In an announcement to the Commons following the espionage alert, Mr Jarvis stated: “Our intelligence agencies have warned that China is attempting to recruit and cultivate individuals with access to sensitive information about Parliament and the UK government.

“MI5 have stated that this activity is being carried out by a group of Chinese intelligence officers often masked through the use of cover companies or external headhunters.”

He added: “This activity involves a covert and calculated attempt by a foreign power to interfere with our sovereign affairs in favour of its own interests, and this government will not tolerate it.”