A network of companies run by a secretive Chinese technology corporation is looking to hire recently fired the US government employees.
This was told to Reuters by Max Lesser, a senior analyst for emerging threats at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
The vacancies were posted on job search sites such as Craigslist and LinkedIn. Some of the companies that received offers are part of a wide network of fake consulting and recruitment firms. Their goal is to employ American ex-servicemen and artificial intelligence researchers, Lesser says.
He learned that the four organizations sometimes had digital connections — such as sharing websites and servers. The online resources of the firms, including RiverMerge Strategies and Wavemax Innovation, share an IP address with Smiao Intelligence, an Internet service provider that the analyst says uses “well-established” Chinese intelligence techniques.
“The network is trying to exploit the financial vulnerability of former federal employees who were affected by recent mass layoffs,” says Max Lesser.
Experts consider the case a vivid example of how foreign structures are trying to collect intelligence from employees laid off by the administration of the US President Donald Trump.
An anonymous White House official added that the PRC is constantly trying to exploit the United Statesʼ "free and open system" by resorting to espionage and coercion.
Some US officials with the highest level of security clearance were not briefed before their departure, Reuters reports. The briefings included recommendations on what to do if approached by foreign opponents.
- After Donald Trumpʼs inauguration, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was launched in Washington under the leadership of billionaire Elon Musk. This structure should increase the efficiency of the American government in a year and a half. As part of the governmentʼs spending cuts, the US government has, among other things, suspended aid programs to other countries and offered federal officials the opportunity to resign and receive compensation.
- The US Department of Education will cut its staff by almost half. The departmentʼs employees who were affected by the cuts have been placed on administrative leave.
- Politico reported that European countries are developing a strategy to lure researchers from other countries, including the United States.
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