Canada's spy agency and close international partners warn that China's military intelligence services are using professional networking sites and online job platforms to target current and former government and military personnel.

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The alert was issued Wednesday by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Australia Security Intelligence Organization, the New Zealand Intelligence Community, the United Kingdom’s MI5 and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

They say China ultimately seeks privileged military, political and economic intelligence that can provide Beijing with a strategic and tactical advantage over the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance.

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CSIS says Chinese intelligence officers or their affiliates pose as employees of private consultancies, think tanks or human resources firms, and place online job advertisements for foreign policy and defence analysts.

It says that while applicants often have no direct access to classified information, successful candidates are then pressured to provide "non-public" information, including unclassified data on government policy or on military strategy, capabilities and installations.

CSIS says that even a small piece of information can be collected and combined with more sensitive reporting to undermine Canada’s interests.

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