The UK’s domestic intelligence service has launched a new ad campaign after warning that state spies have already approached over 10,000 citizens via social media.
MI5 boss claimed that over the past five years, malicious profiles have been set-up and used “on an industrial scale,” according to the BBC. The broadcaster identified the platform as LinkedIn.
Those approached include staff at almost every government department, companies in strategically important sectors and academics. They might be offered business trips which could be used to try and recruit them into spying for hostile nations, the report claimed.
These employees are potentially more exposed to such approaches given they have been working from home and using personal devices more often, the government’s CSO told the BBC.
Campaign launched to alert public sector staff that not everyone on the internet is nice
Gareth Corfield Tue 20 Apr 2021 // 15:48 UTC Share
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Updated Ten thousand Britons have been targeted on LinkedIn by recruiters for the Chinese and Russian intelligence services, according to an awareness campaign launched by domestic spy agency MI5 this morning.
Details were previewed in this morning s
Times newspaper, which warned specifically of people with access to classified or sensitive information being targeted by Britain s enemies.
The Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI), an MI5 offshoot, told the newspaper its figure of 10,000 compromise attempts over five years was a conservative one, with MI5 chief Ken McCallum saying in a prepared statement: Malicious profiles on professional networking sites are being utilised on an industrial scale.
Foreign spies have used social media platforms like LinkedIn to target 10,000 officials in the UK and abroad who have access to sensitive information and locations, the head of MI5 warns today.
Ken McCallum said that fake accounts were being used on an industrial scale in an attempt to steal state secrets.
The Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI), which is part of MI5, said that the 10,000 figure, which covers the past five years, was likely to be a conservative estimate.
Targets include people working in defence and security sectors, civil servants, pharmaceuticals and other sensitive industries.
The CPNI is running a think before you link campaign aimed at people working in these areas.
Civil servants warned of spying link to social media contacts
MI5 says more than 10,000 incidents have been recorded as campaign flags threat from fake business profiles
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20 Apr 2021
The Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure has launched a campaign to warn civil servants of the security dangers posed by contacts made through business-related social media platforms.
Its “Think Before You Link” project flags the risks posed by hostile states’ use of sites such as LinkedIn and the potential for officials to be blackmailed and for the security of legitimate members of their networks to be compromised.
The centre, which is part of MI5, said criminals and hostile actors often posed as recruiters or talent agents offering “enticing opportunities” as part of information gathering exercises.