Germany exposes the danger from Chinese cyber espionage

Germany's intelligence agency warned that China is using social media to illegally exploit information from German officials and citizens, and is skeptical about China's desire to interfere in German politics.

Illustration photo: SLC

Germany's Federal Domestic Intelligence Service (BfV) on December 10 published a list of fake social media accounts, believed to have been created by Chinese intelligence agencies to collect information on German officials and politicians.

The report warned these individuals about the risk of losing important and valuable information through social media.

“Chinese intelligence appears to be very active on social networks such as LinkedIn and is attempting to seek intelligence through this channel, including collecting data on users' habits, interests, and political leanings,” the report said.

During the nine-month study, the BfV said it estimated that more than 10,000 Germans were allegedly contacted and targeted by Chinese intelligence under the guise of consultants, recruiters or researchers, mainly through the social network LinkedIn. The BfV said the number could be even higher.

The accounts that appeared in the BfV report all had in common the use of “grandiose” titles, and the photos showed the flashy, luxurious lifestyle of the fake subjects. However, the information provided by the subjects was inaccurate. For example, the account of subject Laeticia Chen, who claimed to be the director of the China Center for International Politics and Economics, used photos from fashion brands as her profile picture.

Research has shown that some Germans even have links with “high-ranking politicians and diplomats” from several European countries. This is completely untrue and the BfV warns Germans to be careful with their social media connections.

Germany’s warning continues to raise concerns from US and Western intelligence about China’s information-gathering plans. The US has previously expressed concern because it suspects China appears to be recruiting US citizens as spies.

According to Dan Tri