Chinese spies use LinkedIn to target UK officials and military staff


Chinese spies are targeting UK government and military staff on job websites including LinkedIn to try to get access to classified or sensitive information, MI5 has warned.

A bulletin has been released by the Five Eyes powers – the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand – highlighting an “aggressive” online recruitment strategy where spies for Beijing military intelligence pose as workers acting on behalf of private businesses or thinktanks.

Read more…
Source:  The Guardian


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Britain prepared to use air strikes or send in troops as retaliation against future cyber attack

    June 28, 2017

    Britain could launch military retaliation such as air strikes against a future cyber attack, the Defence Secretary has suggested. Sir Michael Fallon warned potential attackers that a strike on UK systems “could invite a response from any domain – air, land, sea or cyberspace”. The Defence Secretary said the UK’s ability to carry out its own cyber ...

  • Petya cyber attack: Ransomware spreads across Europe with firms in Ukraine, Britain and Spain shut down

    June 27, 2017

    Major firms, airports and government departments in Ukraine have been struck by a massive cyber attack which began to spread across Europe on Tuesday afternoon. In Ukraine, government departments, the central bank, a state-run aircraft manufacturer,  the airport in Kiev and  the metro network have all been paralysed by the hack. In the UK, the advertising firm WPP said ...

  • HMS Queen Elizabeth is ‘running outdated Windows XP’, raising cyber attack fears

    June 27, 2017

    Fears have been raised that Britain’s largest ever warship could be vulnerable to cyber attacks after it emerged it appears to be running the outdated Microsoft Windows XP. As HMS Queen Elizabeth left its dockyard for the first time to begin sea trials, it was revealed the £3.5billion aircraft carrier is apparently using the same software that left the NHS exposed. Screens ...

  • MPs lose email access as Parliament targeted in ‘sustained’ cyberattack

    June 25, 2017

    A cyberattack on MPs and Peers’ emails has prompted Parliament’s security team to shut down external access to its systems. An email sent to parliamentarians on Friday and shown to Sky News said: “Earlier this morning we discovered unusual activity and evidence of an attempted cyberattack on our computer network.” It claimed that “hackers were carrying out ...

  • Virgin Media tells 800,000 users to change passwords over hub hacking risk

    June 23, 2017

    Virgin Media is advising more than 800,000 customers with a specific router to change their password immediately after an investigation found hackers could gain access to it. Virgin Media said the risk to customers with a Super Hub 2 router was small, but advised them to change both their network and router passwords if they were ...

  • Breach at UK.gov’s Cyber Essentials scheme exposes users to phishing attacks

    June 21, 2017

    The operation behind the UK government’s Cyber Essentials scheme has suffered a breach exposing the email addresses of registered consultancies, it told them today. The scheme’s badges are required by all suppliers bidding for “certain sensitive and personal information-handling contracts”. Companies were notified of the problem, which leaves them at greater risk of phishing attack, through ...