The A-Team: How foreign spies are using social media to recruit Australian executives
The head of the nation’s spy agency has revealed foreign spies successfully recruited a former Australian politician who targeted a prime minister's family, and continue to make approaches to executives on social media.
Last year, an Australian man received an unsolicited message from someone claiming to be named Sophy from a company called Data 31, offering a part-time consulting role.
After he expressed interest, Sophy requested information that was not available online and asked if the man had contacts inside the Australian government. Curiously, she also suggested he not mention who he was working for and hinted that the rewards would be greater for inside information. She also tried to set up an all-expenses-paid meeting outside Australia.
Before the trip could take place and secrets exposed, the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) intervened to alert the man he had been talking to a foreign spy.
The exchange was divulged on Wednesday night by ASIO director-general Mike Burgess in his annual threat assessment, in which he warned a foreign intelligence service is trawling through professional networking sites looking for Australians with access to privileged information.
