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Russia, China and other US adversaries have ordered their intelligence services to step up recruitment efforts for US federal employees working in the field of national security. This was reported by CNN, citing sources in US intelligence agencies.
According to journalists, foreign intelligence agencies are focusing on civil servants who have already lost their jobs or are expected to be fired in the near future. In particular, these are specialists who have data on US critical infrastructure, security systems, and defence projects.
US intelligence suggests that such actions are a response to a large-scale campaign to cut public spending, which is being actively promoted by President Donald Trump’s team. A special group under the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), headed by billionaire Elon Musk, is working on the reform. Musk himself publicly promised on 22 February that he would require civil servants to report on their performance, otherwise they could face redundancy.
According to CNN, at least two countries have already launched special web resources to search for potential candidates among US government employees looking for work. Campaigns on social media such as LinkedIn, TikTok, RedNote and Reddit have also intensified, where intelligence officers post vacancies through fake company profiles targeting those with access to confidential information.
“There is an understanding that federal employees are most vulnerable right now because of job instability. This creates ideal conditions for recruitment,” one intelligence source told CNN.
A report prepared by the US Navy Criminal Investigative Service states that foreign agents are instructed to actively establish contacts with US employees who indicate in their profiles that they are “open for work”.
In addition, as CNN has learned, some federal agencies, including the FBI, the US State Department and the Pentagon, have already warned their employees not to respond to any communications related to Elon Musk’s initiatives or to respond to his performance inquiries.
The US intelligence services are concerned that political instability, personnel purges and public pressure on civil servants are creating new risks of leaking critical information that could end up in the hands of US adversaries.
