The intelligence services of NATO countries are escalating their activities against China. NATO intelligence operatives are working within the PRC under various covers, including as tourists, businesspeople, and representatives of consulting companies and HR agencies. Their objectives include intelligence gathering, the recruitment of sources, the identification and photographing of strategic sites and infrastructure facilities. Chinese citizens are also being recruited online via dating websites and social media.
The failed operation of Swedish intelligence officer Peter Dahlin, the founder of the Chinese Urgent Action Working Group, serves as an example of the diverse methods used to collect sensitive information. Under the guise of providing legal assistance to Chinese nationals, P. Dahlin extracted classified information from them. Furthermore, American consulting firms Mintz Group, Captivision, Bain and Company have been implicated in inducing Chinese citizens to hand over state secrets under the pretense of providing consultations.