CIA broadens online recruitment of informants to include China, Iran, and North Korea

The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) initiated a new initiative on Wednesday to recruit informants in China, Iran, and North Korea. This initiative is in addition to the successful recruitment of Russians, which the CIA alleges.

A CIA spokesperson confirmed that the agency has posted instructions in Mandarin, Farsi, and Korean on its accounts on X, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, LinkedIn, and the Dark Web regarding secure communication.

“Our endeavors on this front have been successful in Russia, and we wish to ensure that individuals in other authoritarian regimes are aware that we are available for business,” stated the spokesperson. The spokesperson also mentioned that the CIA was adjusting to the heightened state repression and global surveillance.

A Mandarin-language video posted to YouTube that contained solely written instructions advised individuals to contact the CIA via its official website by utilizing trusted encrypted Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) or the TOR network.

“Your safety and wellbeing are our foremost consideration,” according to the document.

The request requested information that could be of interest to the CIA, including names, locations, and contact details that were not associated with their actual identities. It also warned that responses were not guaranteed and could take time.

According to Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy, the United States is conducting a “systematic and organized” disinformation campaign against China. He also stated that “any endeavors to erode the close relationship between the Chinese people and the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) will inevitably fail.”

The Iranian U.N. mission and the Russian embassy did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment.

The CIA’s desire for intelligence has increased as China exerts its regional military power and expands its cooperation with Russia and Iran.

Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are classified as “hard targets” by the U.S. intelligence community, as their administrations are notoriously difficult to penetrate.

Iran’s nuclear program, its increasing ties to Russia, its support for militant proxies, and its conflict with Israel are all issues that the United States is currently tackling.

U.S. intelligence officials have identified North Korea’s nuclear weapons program as an additional target, in addition to the allegations that Pyongyang is providing armaments to Moscow for the Ukrainian conflict. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied these allegations.

The CIA initiated the recruitment of Russians in 2022 by publishing Russian-language texts on its social media accounts with instructions on how to securely contact the agency. This was followed by the release of videos in 2023.