US counterintelligence experts claim that Chinese and Russian operatives are making use of charm, romantic ties and long-term personal influence to gain a foothold within America's tech industry, according to a report by The Times.
Responding to reports, Tesla CEO Elon Musk joked, “If she's a 10, you're an asset."
If she's a 10, you're an asset 💯😂 pic.twitter.com/Fc9twx1BPp
October 23, 2025According to the report, China and Russia are using attractive women to win over tech workers, in some cases going as far as marrying their targets and starting families with them.
James Mulvenon, chief intelligence officer at Pamir Consulting, a firm offering risk evaluations for US companies investing in China, revealed that he was among several men recently approached by foreign women attempting to obtain access to American technological intelligence.
“I'm getting an enormous number of very sophisticated LinkedIn requests from the same type of attractive young Chinese woman,” Mulvenon was quoted as saying by The Times.
He highlighted that the US has “a real vulnerability” to honeytrap tactics, “because we, by statute and by culture, do not do that.”
“So, they have an asymmetric advantage when it comes to sex warfare,” Mulvenon added.
Jeff Stoff, an academic and former China and national security analyst for the US government, said, “It's the Wild West out there. China is targeting our startups, our academic institutions, our innovators, our DoD (Department of Defense)-funded research projects. But there's not enough oversight and action. It's all intertwined as part of China's economic warfare strategy, and we've not even entered the battlefield.”
Stoff further claimed that a lot of China's efforts are not even illegal, according to the report.
“The Chinese understand our system and they know how to work within it with virtual impunity — most of the time,” said Stoff.
The report claims China has been running startup competitions across the US to covertly gather innovative business ideas, with some alleging that these efforts aim to undermine America's technology landscape.
One of the competitions that has concerned officials is the China (Shenzhen) Innovation and Entrepreneurship International Competition.
The CEO of a Silicon Valley biotech firm who joined last year's contest in November said he was made to keep a microphone on the entire time and noticed officials shadowing his every move.
“They would record everything I would say, do and then ask questions like a reporter would: ‘What do we do? How do we do it?” he said.
According to US officials, who issued a warning last month, certain competitions require startups to disclose their business plans, intellectual property, and even personal information and photographs before participation.
“Part of it is a counterintelligence risk. They're looking at how they can exploit you later. And part of it is they may simply take your idea, exploit it and patent it, stealing your financial future,” the report quoted a senior US counterintelligence official saying.
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