Sexy, texts back, and is into your job? You might be dating a spy

Silicon Valley tech workers are increasingly being targeted by intelligence operatives who use romance, friendship, and professional flattery to steal corporate secrets. Recent incidents include an FBI arrest of an OpenAI employee accused of planting a recording device, and multiple lawsuits alleging employee theft of trade secrets. Former counterintelligence officials estimate thousands of operatives operate in the region and millions worldwide. Attackers build detailed profiles from social media, recruit through LinkedIn or in-person approaches at parks and cafes, invite targets to all-expenses-paid conferences abroad, or use physical tactics like “evil maid” hotel tampering and planted devices to clone drives or install spyware.

Experts say common indicators include excessive probing about technical specifics, pressure for information outside normal bounds, or relationships that trade intimacy for access. Operatives often exploit emotional or ego vulnerabilities - flattery, attention, companionship - rather than brute force, and frequently present as attractive, helpful peers. Employers also surveil employees’ activity, as shown by internal tracking programs at major firms. The practical guidance is to trust instincts, limit device exposure when traveling, be wary of unsolicited closeness, and recognize that only when someone lacks access to valuable data can they stop being a target.