Chinese Russian espionage seduction tactics target US tech firms Elon Musk reacts

SpaceX CEO and tech billionaire Elon Musk has weighed in on a new report claiming that Chinese and Russian operatives are using seduction and deception to infiltrate America’s technology sector.

Reacting to the revelations on X, Elon Musk quipped, “If she’s a 10, you’re an asset.”

The tongue-in-cheek remark, part humorous and part cautionary, quickly went viral.

According to an investigation by The Times (UK), “sex warfare” has emerged as a covert strategy among foreign intelligence agencies, with operatives posing as entrepreneurs, investors, or romantic partners to extract sensitive data from US tech insiders.

The report alleges that Chinese and Russian agents are targeting innovation hubs from Silicon Valley to Seattle, seeking access to confidential research, defence technology, and artificial intelligence projects.

LUST AND LIES AS TOOLS OF ESPIONAGE

According to the report, US counterintelligence agencies are alarmed by what they describe as a wave of “seductive spies” deployed to extract trade secrets and intellectual property from American technology firms.

Experts say these operations blur the line between human intelligence (HUMINT) and cyber espionage, relying on emotional manipulation rather than hacking tools to breach sensitive systems.

“China is targeting our startups, our academic institutions, our innovators,” Jeff Stoff, a former US national security analyst, told The Times. “It’s all part of China’s economic warfare strategy — and we’ve not even entered the battlefield.”

James Mulvenon, Chief Intelligence Officer at Pamir Consulting, told the publication, “It’s the Wild West out there.” He described receiving a flurry of LinkedIn requests from “the same type of attractive young Chinese woman,” suggesting a coordinated intelligence effort.

THE RISE OF ‘SEX WARFARE’

US counterintelligence officials warned that this so-called “sex warfare” extends beyond flirtation. In several cases, operatives have reportedly married targets, including aerospace and defence employees, as part of long-term intelligence-gathering missions.

One former official cited by The Times described a “beautiful Russian woman” who married an American engineer and later moved into crypto and defence-tech circles, calling it a “lifelong collection operation”.

“They have an asymmetric advantage when it comes to sex warfare,” Mulvenon admitted, noting that US agencies, constrained by law and ethics, are less willing to use such tactics.

CHINA’S ‘WHOLE-OF-SOCIETY’ ESPIONAGE STRATEGY

US intelligence officials claimed Beijing’s approach to spying has gone mainstream, using civilians — from students to businesspeople — as potential intelligence assets.

“We’re not chasing KGB agents in smoky rooms anymore,” one senior official told The Times. “Our adversaries, especially the Chinese, are using a whole-of-society approach.”

The financial stakes are staggering. The Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property estimates that economic espionage and trade secret theft cost the US economy up to $600 billion annually, with China responsible for the majority of cases.

In one instance, German national Klaus Pflugbeil allegedly tried to sell Tesla’s stolen blueprints for $15 million to undercover agents in Las Vegas. Prosecutors said the data could have bolstered China’s electric vehicle ambitions.

PITCH TRAPS AND HONEYTRAPS

Beyond romance, US authorities warn of economic “honeytraps” or so-called innovation competitions or “pitch events” run by Chinese entities that lure startups into revealing intellectual property.

Some competitions allegedly record participants, collect personal data, and then use it for industrial espionage.

“It’s a counterintelligence risk,” one US official said. “They may simply take your idea, exploit it, and patent it — stealing your financial future.”

A biotech CEO told The Times that after winning $50,000 in one such contest, he later found his federal funding frozen. “They recorded everything,” he said. “Every word, every detail.”

While seductive espionage is as old as the Cold War, when Soviet “swallows” and “ravens” entrapped Western officials, analysts say the battleground has shifted.

Today’s spies aren’t seeking state secrets in embassies. They’re targeting data scientists, AI engineers, and startup founders — people who hold keys to future technologies with national security value.

“Private tech companies now hold as much strategic power as government agencies,” said one intelligence analyst. “That’s where the spies are.”

Agencies like the FBI and National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) are urging Silicon Valley firms to strengthen insider-threat training and behavioural monitoring.

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