UK holds talks with LinkedIn to clamp down on Chinese espionage

"The National Protective Security Authority, which is part of the UK's security services, is speaking to major social media platforms about making them less attractive for foreign agents, a government official told the Guardian. MPs and peers were told on Tuesday that they faced a covert and calculated attempt at espionage via two LinkedIn profiles linked to the Chinese intelligence service."

"MI5 said the two accounts, posing as recruiters, were trying to obtain insider insights into British politics. The spy agency said the profiles under the names of Amanda Qiu, from BP-YR Executive Search, and Shirly Shen, from InternshipUnion, were using LinkedIn to conduct outreach at scale. Both accounts have since been deleted. A LinkedIn spokesperson said: Creating a fake account or misrepresenting your identity is a clear violation of our terms of service. We remain focused on detecting state-sponsored abuse, and will continue to enforce our policies against fake accounts."

"After the alert, Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle has invited MPs to a cybersecurity and resilience briefing with GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler and National Cyber Security Centre chief executive Richard Horne next week. In its espionage alert, MI5 said operatives sometimes preferred to move conversations to encrypted platforms, and those targeted included thinktank employees and geopolitical consultants. Bryn Harris, chief legal counsel at the Free Speech Union (FSU), told the Guardian he received three approaches this year over email from individuals purporting to be interested in his work on academic freedom. The messages began a few months after one of the FSU's members, University College London professor Michelle Shipworth, was involved in a high-profile row on the subject."

The government is holding talks with LinkedIn to clamp down on prolific Chinese espionage after an MI5 interference alert. The National Protective Security Authority is engaging major social media platforms to make them less attractive to foreign agents. MPs and peers were warned about a covert attempt at espionage via two LinkedIn profiles linked to the Chinese intelligence service, which posed as recruiters to obtain insider political insights. The named profiles used LinkedIn for wide outreach and have been deleted. LinkedIn confirmed fake accounts violate its terms and said it focuses on detecting state-sponsored abuse. A cybersecurity briefing for MPs has been scheduled and targeted individuals included thinktank staff and consultants; a legal counsel at the Free Speech Union reported multiple suspicious approaches.

Read at www.theguardian.com