Five Eyes security alliance warns of Chinese espionage threat

LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - Security ‌agencies from the "Five ​Eyes" ​alliance which includes the United States and Britain issued a warning on Wednesday about Chinese spies aggressively using online ‌job platforms to recruit people with access to sensitive information.

The "Safeguarding ⁠Our Secrets" bulletin says China's military intelligence services were using a wide array ‌of professional networking sites and ‌online recruitment services to target those in government, the military or anyone who could access classified information.

"Chinese military intelligence services ultimately seek ​to acquire privileged military, political and economic intelligence that can provide China with a strategic and tactical advantage over the Five Eyes," ⁠the domestic security agencies from the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, said.

Although there ​have been similar warnings from individual countries in the past, the joint bulletin was described as unprecedented. Beijing has ​repeatedly rejected such espionage claims, calling ‌them "pure fabrication and malicious slander".

In the bulletin, the Five Eyes agencies said Chinese spies were particularly targeting those who ⁠specialised in defence, foreign affairs and intelligence, and military personnel, including those stationed in the Indo-Pacific region.

Also at risk were journalists, think tank employees or those ⁠with peripheral access to government data.

It said the spies used "an aggressive online recruitment ​strategy" with successful candidates then pressured to provide confidential information "for unspecified clients who are associated with the Chinese government".

Those who were recruited could be paid anywhere from ‌a few hundred to several thousand dollars per report, and offered more for increasingly sensitive information, the ‌bulletin said.

The U.S. has previously warned about Chinese intelligence using deception to ⁠target current and former U.S. ‌government employees while Britain's ​MI5 security service last November cautioned lawmakers about Chinese agents trying to spy on parliament.

(Reporting by Michael HoldenEditing by ‌Alexandra Hudson)

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