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<v Speaker 1>We'll come back everybody. Today, we're looking at the LinkedIn trap.

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<v Speaker 1>You've probably heard some stories about it, but it's not

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<v Speaker 1>a hypothetical threat. This is not some analysts somewhere connecting

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<v Speaker 1>dots on a whiteboard, five of the most powerful intel

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<v Speaker 1>agencies on the planet stepping out of the shadows together

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<v Speaker 1>and saying this is happening. On June third, twenty twenty six,

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<v Speaker 1>To five Eyes Alliance released a joint security bulletin titled

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<v Speaker 1>Safeguarding are Secrets. Five nations, five domestic spy agencies, all

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<v Speaker 1>five together at the same time. So this is a

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<v Speaker 1>serious problem. They're telling it because they need you to know.

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<v Speaker 1>So what are you talking about? Anyway? China's military intelligence

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<v Speaker 1>services are using an increasingly wide array of professional networking

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<v Speaker 1>sites and online job platforms to target Five Eyes, government

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<v Speaker 1>and military personnel, and anyone with access to classified or

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<v Speaker 1>privileged information. The platforms include LinkedIn, Indeed and upwork places

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<v Speaker 1>where you go to find a job, a better opportunity life,

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<v Speaker 1>the place where a message in your inbox feels professional, legitimate.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's where the operation actually works. Intelligence operators pose as

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<v Speaker 1>private consulting firms think tanks or recruitment agencies to attract

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<v Speaker 1>foreign policy experts, defense analysts, military personnel. They build out profiles,

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<v Speaker 1>they create fake companies that look real. They post job listings,

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<v Speaker 1>They reach out to you by name, and they have

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<v Speaker 1>done their homework. They know where you work, where your

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<v Speaker 1>clearest level is, what your specialty is. They ask at first,

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<v Speaker 1>is never anything that sounds like espionage. They want to

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<v Speaker 1>report an analysis, a brief in some policy area, something

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<v Speaker 1>that sounds like consulting work, something that sounds like a

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<v Speaker 1>side hustle. Recruits are often offered payments ranging from hundreds

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<v Speaker 1>of thousands of dollars for reports through research assignments, but

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<v Speaker 1>some compensation reportedly made through cryptocurrency. And then it escalates.

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<v Speaker 1>Once you've taken the money, you've written that first report,

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<v Speaker 1>you're in and you may not even realize. As they

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<v Speaker 1>get the request and more specific the pressure builds. The

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<v Speaker 1>target is not just what you know today, it is access.

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<v Speaker 1>Think about who they are going after. The types of

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<v Speaker 1>workers who may be targeted include security clearance holders, military personnel, professors,

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<v Speaker 1>policy advisors, journalists. And here's the part that is not

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<v Speaker 1>Goet talked about enough. This is not a new playbook

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<v Speaker 1>China has been running this version for years. What is

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<v Speaker 1>the need? What is new is the scale. The bulletin

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<v Speaker 1>describes a tactic as a scaled, methodical, methodical approach to

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<v Speaker 1>identifying sources through seemingly legitimate unemployment opportunities. The Five Eyes

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<v Speaker 1>are not sounding this alarm because they caught a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of amateur spies. They're sounding it because the operation has

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<v Speaker 1>produced results. The warning stated that such activities have in

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<v Speaker 1>some cases resulted in criminal prosecutions, job terminations, and the

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<v Speaker 1>loss of security clearances among individuals in five by countries.

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<v Speaker 1>And here's what I fought. I've said directly, certain types

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<v Speaker 1>of data can place the lives of frontline military or

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<v Speaker 1>other personnel at risk and can weaken economic prosperity. They're

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<v Speaker 1>not just talking about firing you, and they're talking about prison.

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<v Speaker 1>So what do you actually do with this information? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>knowing is the first thing. Verify everything as the second.

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<v Speaker 1>If someone reaches out to you on LinkedIn offering consulting

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<v Speaker 1>work related to your professional background, especially anything touching government

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<v Speaker 1>or defense or policy, assume nothing is what it appears

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<v Speaker 1>to be. Look at the company. Call the company, not

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<v Speaker 1>the number they give you. Find it independently. If it

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<v Speaker 1>does not check out, disengage next reporting to the five eyes,

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<v Speaker 1>the FBI, five csis ASIO, and ZSIS. They all have

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<v Speaker 1>mechanisms for reporting suspicious contact. Use them. One report might

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<v Speaker 1>connect the dot that breaks the open an entire network.

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<v Speaker 1>Talk to the people around you, your colleagues, your teammates,

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<v Speaker 1>your family members, who hold clear A bulletin is public

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<v Speaker 1>for a reason, writes the Security minister. Urge anyone who

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<v Speaker 1>could be a potential target to be on guard for

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<v Speaker 1>signs of online targeting. Bottom line is this the five

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<v Speaker 1>eyes denied issue join public warnings lightly. The fact that

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<v Speaker 1>they did means the threat environment is escalated to the

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<v Speaker 1>point where silence is no longer an option. China's military

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<v Speaker 1>intelligence is running a campaign to turn clear personnel and

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<v Speaker 1>national security professionals into unwinning intelligence assets. So know the threat,

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<v Speaker 1>trust your gut, report what you see.