The Cold War is not only fought with tariffs and hackers, but with charm: this is the scenario described by a new Times of London investigation that openly talks about “sex warfare”. According to the British newspaper, the intelligence services of China and Russia are employing young women, referred to as “sexy spies”, trained to seduce executives and engineers of American technology companies to obtain access to sensitive data and strategic patents.
The so-called “honey traps are not new in espionage, but the investigation shows their sophistication in the digital age. The spies would move under the cover of female entrepreneurs, researchers or investors, making initial contacts on platforms such as LinkedIn or at hi-tech events in Silicon Valley. The aim is to win the trust, and sometimes the hearts, of key figures with access to confidential information, and then gradually extract industrial and technological secrets.
The operation would no longer involve only secret agents in the classical sense, but civilian figures fully integrated into the Western technological world. This makes the new Mata Hari difficult to detect, as they speak the language of networking and innovation, acting discreetly on behalf of state intelligence.
The cost to the US economy is staggering. The theft of intellectual property and sensitive technologies, of which “sex warfare” is only one component, would amount to 600 billion a year. It is a broader strategy that also includes hacking, front companies and shadow investments, all aimed at undermining US technological dominance, particularly in crucial sectors such as defence and artificial intelligence.
The US and UK authorities have reportedly already intensified controls in the most exposed sectors, given the concern that this “sexual guerrilla” tactic has never stopped, but has simply evolved by adapting to new business and social networking contexts.
