Anyone who maintains a professional profile online publishes exactly the information an intelligence service is looking for: employer, role, projects, access. In 2022, the British Security Service MI5 stated that it had identified more than 10,000 covert approaches by foreign intelligence services via career networks, directed at British nationals within a single year.
How it typically unfolds
- A connection request from a headhunter, a consultancy or a think tank, often with a credible profile.
- A flattering offer: an advisory role, a paid expert report, an invitation to a conference.
- A move to a private channel, supposedly for the sake of discretion.
- Initial questions that seem harmless. Then questions that no longer are.
How to recognise it
- The offer is better than would be realistic for your position.
- The other side presses for confidentiality and private channels.
- You are paid for assessments that are really part of your day-to-day work.
- Over time, the questions become more specific and concern non-public information.
What you can do
Check profiles and organisations before you engage. Discuss unusual offers with a trusted point of contact in the company. And consider which details of your profile are necessary for your career and which are mainly useful to others.
Further reading: UK Government: Think Before You Link
