China using LinkedIn to recruit spies

As the world was normalising following Covid-19 related restrictions, Gunjan Sharma name changed), a researcher specializing in the Pacific region who had a strong network among government officials, received an invitation to connect on her LinkedIn profile from an individual who said he was associated with a Beijing-based think-tank.

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The said individual, after a regular exchange of messages, invited Sharma to speak on a topic of her research in Beijing. The event, he claimed, would have speakers from other countries and the expenses incurred on travelling, lodging anda three-day sightseeing would be borne by the think-tank. After consulting her senior colleagues and government officials, Sharma declined the invitation and soon enough, the said profile of the individual, who had been interacting with her and had extended the invitation, disappeared.

Whether the individual who had approached Sharma was someone who was really working with a thinktank or whether he was a part of a Chinese intelligence agency, scouring LinkedIn for would-be informers and spies, is unlikely to be confirmed ever.