FBI seizes 13 websites tied to alleged China plot

June 11, 2026

1–2 minutes

Summary

U.S. officials said 13 seized websites were used in an alleged Chinese effort to recruit Americans with access to sensitive information.

Why this matters

The case highlights how intelligence recruitment efforts can use ordinary job platforms and fake consulting firms to seek sensitive government information. It also reflects wider U.S. and allied warnings about alleged Chinese espionage targeting current and former government personnel.

The FBI seized 13 websites that U.S. officials said were part of a Chinese effort to target American workers with access to classified or sensitive government information, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

Officials said the sites appeared to belong to consulting companies advertising jobs for current and former security clearance holders. But the companies were fake and the listings were not real, officials said.

Last week, the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance — Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S. — issued a bulletin warning that China was targeting personnel from those countries through job websites to gain access to classified or sensitive information.

The bulletin said Chinese military intelligence operatives had posed as people working for private businesses or think tanks, advertising fake jobs such as foreign policy or defense analysts and pressing candidates to provide “non-public” information.

According to an FBI affidavit filed in connection with the seizures, the websites used fraudulent or stolen identities and artificial intelligence-generated photographs to appear legitimate. The sites advertised generic consulting jobs aimed at current or former U.S. government employees.

“These websites are often linked or referenced within the entities’ job postings on LinkedIn and other hiring platforms,” the affidavit said.

The Justice Department said applicants and recruits were offered money for reports related to their work and for sensitive information. Officials alleged the operators were tied to Chinese intelligence services and said they used cryptocurrency and online payment systems to conceal their identities.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington called the allegations of Chinese espionage “entirely fabricated” and “malicious slander.”

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