A number of Chinese firms have been recruiting active and former members of the Philippine military for potential espionage, the Philippine information department has revealed.
The department’s cybersecurity undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy said the companies are disguising themselves as American and European organizations to avert suspicion.
They are offering part-time jobs to Filipinos linked to the military, mainly as “online analysts.”
The information department said it discovered the online recruitment by these companies as early as December 2023.
“There is a facility on the internet called WHOIS that allows users to find out who registered the domain names or the name of the website,” Dy explained on a local television program. “When you check through that, you will see that they are registered as Chinese companies.”
The Department of National Defense (DND) and the intelligence sector have reportedly been informed of the scheme.
‘Be Cautious’
Following the report, the DND ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines to conduct a thorough investigation to assess the veracity of the information.
Spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said his department has picked up the activity but he refused to provide more details, saying this is a “new issue.”
“It will require more interagency investigation because in cybercrimes, it’s very difficult to determine the footprint of these people if they want to hide themselves,” he told GMA News Online.
In the meantime, Dy urged all people linked to the armed forces to be cautious online as these Chinese firms offer “hundreds of dollars per hour” to work for them.
