MI5 have warned that 10,000 British officials have been targeted for recruitment by hostile states on social sites such as LinkedIn.
According to the intelligence service virtually all government departments and key industries have been approached by malicious profiles on behalf of hostile states on professional networking sites over the last 5 years.
MI5 went on to warn a considerable volume of these individuals have, at first, unknowing have engaged online, potentially risking national security.
While launching a security campaign alongside intelligence agencies in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – the 5 Eyes intelligence alliance – Ken McCallum, the Director General of MI5 said: “Malicious profiles on professional networking sites are being utilised on an industrial scale.
“This campaign, which harnesses the insight derived from our intelligence, behavioural science experts and co-operation of 5 Eyes partners, will strengthen the UK’s collective defences against this activity.”
A spokesman for LinkedIn said: “We actively seek out signs of state-sponsored activity on the platform and quickly take action against bad actors in order to protect our members.
“Our Threat Intelligence team removes fake accounts using information we uncover and intelligence from a variety of sources, including government agencies. Our teams utilize multiple automated techniques, coupled with human reviews and member reporting to maintain LinkedIn as a safe and trusted platform.
“Fraudulent activity with an intent to mislead or lie to our members is a violation of our terms of service.”
The news comes as New Zealand has broken with its “Five Eyes” intelligence partners, including the UK, as it pursues a closer alliance with China.
New Zealand’s foreign minister said she would not allow the intelligence alliance to dictate the country’s dealings with China, putting tension n the Five Eyes agreement.
In her speech to the New Zealand China Council, Ms Mahuta said: “We are uncomfortable with expanding the remit of the Five Eyes relationship,
“We would much rather prefer to look for multilateral opportunities to express our interests on a number of issues.”
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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