The U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) has issued a formal warning that Chinese intelligence agencies are covertly attempting to recruit American citizens with access to sensitive government information.
According to the statement, Beijing is using increasingly sophisticated and deceptive methods to achieve its intelligence objectives. These recruitment efforts are often disguised as attractive career opportunities. The NCSC highlights that fake LinkedIn profiles and bogus invitations to conferences, or “advisory boards,” are commonly used to lure both former and current U.S. government employees—particularly during a time of mass layoffs and structural reforms within the federal workforce.
These developments come in the context of a major restructuring initiative led by the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk. The department’s push to streamline bureaucracy has resulted in a sudden influx of unemployed federal employees, many of whom possess experience in sensitive areas such as national security, defense procurement, and foreign policy—making them prime targets for foreign intelligence recruitment.
Earlier investigative reporting by Reuters uncovered a shadowy network of companies allegedly tied to a secretive Chinese technology conglomerate. These firms, operating through shell entities in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, have been linked to efforts aimed at contacting recently laid-off U.S. federal workers.
While the full extent of China’s recruitment campaign remains unclear, officials have described it as part of a broader push to expand Beijing’s human intelligence (HUMINT) operations within the United States. Authorities have observed a “sharp increase in recruitment efforts” originating from Chinese actors.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) are actively conducting counterintelligence operations to detect and disrupt these threats. Historically, Chinese officials have denied all allegations of espionage and interference, dismissing them as “politically motivated” and a product of “anti-China hysteria.”
As tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to simmer, the latest warning underscores the intensifying contest over intelligence and national security, on which the Chinese Embassy in Washington has not issued a comment on the latest claims.
