Senior US Army intelligence officials have issued a stark warning to service members about a surge in hostile approaches on professional social media sites, with foreign agents attempting to exploit financial insecurity following the recent government shutdown.
Exploiting Discontent in the Ranks
According to a message from Lt. Gen. Anthony Hale, the Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, America's adversaries are actively targeting soldiers and veterans online. These operatives are posing as legitimate entities such as consulting firms, corporate recruiters, and think-tanks.
Lt. Gen. Hale highlighted that the record 43-day government shutdown, which ended earlier this month, created a climate of uncertainty. This period saw 750,000 federal employees furloughed without pay, leaving military personnel worried about their paychecks and vulnerable to exploitation.
"Especially in the context of the recent lapse in appropriations and government shutdown, our adversaries are looking online to identify individuals seeking new employment opportunities, expressing dissatisfaction or describing financial insecurity," Hale wrote in the message, dated November 13.
A 'Massive Uptick' in Malicious Approaches
Adam Lowe, a spokesperson for Army Counterintelligence Command, confirmed to MilitaryTimes that the service is witnessing a "massive uptick" in these underhanded tactics. He noted that this latest warning, issued as the shutdown concluded, targeted personnel who may have access to highly classified information, referred to as TS/SCI (Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information).
Lowe explained that the combination of financial precarity and heightened online political discourse has created a perfect storm. "Adversaries take note of people with access expressing discontentment and look to exploit that," he said.
While details are limited due to ongoing investigations, Lowe revealed that the Army has recorded 25 arrests and over 650 national security investigations since Counterintelligence Command was activated four years ago. So far this year, seven US soldiers have been arrested and charged with crimes including espionage.
A Chilling Real-World Example
Lt. Gen. Hale's warning pointed to the case of Korbein Schultz, a 25-year-old intelligence analyst, as a sobering example. In April 2025, Schultz was sentenced to seven years in prison for conspiring to collect and transmit national defence information to China.
The Department of Justice detailed how Schultz was contacted in 2022 by an alleged Chinese spy, known as "Conspirator A," on a freelance web-based work platform. He was ultimately persuaded to hand over at least 92 documents on US military capabilities concerning Taiwan and Russia in exchange for $42,000.
Hale urged all current and former federal employees to be vigilant, offering a simple rule of thumb: "If the offer seems flattering, urgent, exclusive, or too good to be true, it probably is."
