Fake Jobs, Real Spies: China’s Online Recruitment Machine | EYES ON GEOPOLITICS

Max Lesser breaks down how Chinese intelligence services are using fake consulting firms, job listings, LinkedIn, and other online platforms to target former government employees and collect sensitive information at scale. We also discuss AI-enabled espionage, covert influence operations, TikTok and data privacy, and why awareness may be the best defense against increasingly sophisticated virtual recruitment.Find Max here: https://www.fdd.org/team/max-lesser/Support the show on Patreon:⬇️https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouseJack's news outlet:⬇️https://thehighside.substack.com/Find Jon Hackett here:⬇️Jon's Twitter:https://x.com/jonathanhackettJon's LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejonathanhackettJon's books:https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0C5L659N5?ccs_id=e11a2062-f8d3-498e-bfd7-7d2f3869caf6Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejonathanhackettTwitter: https://x.com/jonathanhackettCheck out Mick's new podcast here:⬇️Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/at/podcast/pub-and-porch-applied-stoicism/id1836955475Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/1k3QPmkAMwnGJxMLDwUSSd?si=n6piIu8XRcag1Z0K43A3bQYoutube:https://www.youtube.com/@UCd0Hq6QFk8CoTu5j-VU0Ong Find Mick Mulroy here: Fogbow ⬇️https://fogbow.com/Lobo Institute ⬇️https://www.loboinstitute.org/Twitter ⬇️https://x.com/mickmulroy?s=21&t=-Ze3F_Ix2vlJ18KFvORTCALinkedIn ⬇️https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-patrick-mulroy-31198b52/Whitefish security summit ⬇️https://whitefishsecuritysummit.comFind Marc P here:https://x.com/MpolymerFind Andy Milburn here: Twitter ⬇️https://twitter.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2Fandymilburn8LinkedIn ⬇️https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmilburn2023Substack ⬇️https://amilburn.substack.com/Andy’s book ⬇️https://www.amazon.com/When-Tempest-Gathers-Mogadishu-Operations"Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio"00:00 – Start00:59 – China’s New Virtual Espionage Model02:28 – How Max Discovered a Fake Chinese Consulting Network06:18 – Why China Targets Former Government Employees10:09 – What Intelligence Is China Actually Trying to Collect?15:35 – How Elicitation Works & When You Realize You’ve Gone Too Far19:42 – Catfishing, Dating Apps & Espionage Online20:50 – Chinese Intelligence Operations Inside World of Warcraft22:03 – Are Russian & Chinese Influencers Manipulating Social Media Feeds?26:47 – China’s Online Influence Operations & TikTok30:25 – Why Americans Should Care About Chinese Data Collection36:45 – AI, Fake Websites & the Massive Scale of Chinese Espionage40:59 – Why Taking Down Spy Websites Won’t Solve the Problem46:13 – Is China Deliberately Flooding U.S. Counterintelligence?47:34 – Russia’s “Operation Overload” & Overwhelming Investigators52:23 – North Korea’s Remote Workers & the New Intelligence Economy53:00 – Iran, China, Russia & Fake Accounts During the Iran War57:03 – Where to Find Max Lesser’s Research58:34 – How Foreign Propaganda Hooks Smart People1:01:27 – How to Protect Yourself From Virtual Recruitment1:03:08 – Closing ThoughtsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.