On June 10, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the seizure of these domains linked to fake consulting firms created to extract information from current and former U.S. government and military officials.
The Justice Department explained that these fraudulent firms posed as consultants or analysts to approach applicants, demanding access to proprietary or internal information.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves stated, "This seizure sends a clear message that any attempts to exploit trusted Americans who have access to our nation's most sensitive information will be uncovered and dismantled."
This action came just a week after the intelligence-sharing alliance known as the Five Eyes—comprising the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—issued a joint warning regarding China's information-gathering activities.
The Five Eyes had previously warned that China was using online job platforms to target individuals in government, military, and intelligence sectors, attempting to obtain confidential information by posing as private sector or think tank representatives.
China has denied these allegations. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington stated, "The so-called claims of a 'Chinese espionage threat' are completely fabricated and malicious slander. China strongly condemns this."
This is not the first time there have been suspicions that Chinese intelligence agencies are attempting to recruit U.S. and Western officials through fake consulting firms. Reuters reported last year that a similar network of fraudulent consulting firms tried to recruit federal employees who were laid off during the downsizing and restructuring of the Donald Trump administration.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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