He said that commissioning consultant reports is a way for agents to get “a hook” into a potentially valuable source who might later be convinced to supply classified information.“It’s a modern version of classic tradecraft, really.”
Kevin Mallory, a former CIA officer, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last May for disclosing military secrets to a Chinese agent, who targeted him on LinkedIn.
One of the individuals he contacted worked on the U.S. Air Force’s F-35 fighter jet program and admitted he had money problems. Another was a U.S. army officer assigned to the Pentagon, who was paid at least $2,000 to write a report on how the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan would impact China.
Dickson Yeo was sent by his Chinese handlers to the U.S. in November 2019. They gave him instructions to turn the army officer who authored the report into a “permanent conduit of information,” his signed statement says. He was arrested by the FBI before he was able to perform his mission.
On Sunday, the Straight Times reported that Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said investigations did not pose any direct threat to the country’s security.
