The Justice Department on Wednesday said the FBI seized the 13 domains in an operation targeting what officials described as a Chinese government-backed scheme. The websites were designed to appear as legitimate consulting firms but were fronts for recruitment of individuals with security clearances, officials said.
The department said the websites advertised job openings for current and former holders of security clearances. However, the companies were all fakes and the job postings were a sham intended to trick workers into revealing sensitive information, officials said.
The internet domain seizure is part of a broader effort by Western law enforcement and intelligence agencies to sound the alarm about alleged Chinese government plots to recruit workers who can be duped into disclosing sensitive information. Last week, the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance — comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States — issued a bulletin warning that China is targeting personnel from member countries on job websites to get access to classified or sensitive information.