How China and Russia use 'sex warfare' to steal secrets in Silicon Valley

A new growing reality in Silicon Valley is that Chinese and Russian intelligence operatives are reportedly using attractive women to infiltrate tech companies, seduce employees and steal trade secrets.

In some cases, these operatives marry their targets and have children, securing long-term access to confidential information.

Intelligence experts have dubbed this tactic “sex warfare,” highlighting its rising threat to US technological dominance.

James Mulvenon, chief intelligence officer at Pamir Consulting—an advisory firm specialising in US-China investment risks—has witnessed an increase in such operations.

“I’m receiving an enormous number of very sophisticated LinkedIn requests from the same type of attractive young Chinese women,” Mulvenon told The Times.

“It really seems to have ramped up recently.”

At a recent business conference in Virginia focused on Chinese investment risks, Mulvenon reported that two attractive Chinese women attempted to gain entry.

“We didn’t let them in,” he said.

“But they had all the information about the event and everything else.”

A counterintelligence veteran of 30 years, Mulvenon described the tactic as a “real vulnerability” for the US, given cultural and legal restraints, granting adversaries an “asymmetric advantage when it comes to sex warfare.”

While “sex-based” espionage is a key concern, it represents only one facet of a broader intelligence threat. Experts note that China organises startup competitions on US soil designed to harvest business plans, while Russia and China deploy ordinary citizens—including investors, academics, and cryptocurrency analysts—as informal intelligence agents, complicating efforts to detect these activities.

A former counterintelligence officer shared a case involving a “beautiful” Russian woman who married an American aerospace engineer working on sensitive projects. “Showing up, marrying a target, having kids—and conducting a lifelong collection operation—it’s uncomfortable to consider, but it’s very common,” he said.

The financial impact of intellectual property theft is staggering, with losses estimated at up to $600 billion annually, mostly attributed to China. Startups face the risk of losing critical secrets or being compelled to relocate operations to China when sharing plans with Chinese investors.

Silicon Valley is now considered a “Wild West” of soft economic espionage, targeting high-value tech and trade secrets. Mulvenon describes China’s strategy as “drafting”—buying stakes in Department of Defense-funded startups to block US access. Former security analyst Jeff Stoff agrees, stating, “It’s the Wild West out there.”

The region’s open and collaborative culture makes it particularly vulnerable, drawing spies much like moths to a flame. Even U.S. allies such as South Korea and Israel are reported to quietly gather intelligence in the area.

Political espionage is also active in Silicon Valley. California hosts a Chinese intelligence unit that recruits local leaders and politicians. According to Politico, cases like that of Rose Pak, a powerful San Francisco political broker, demonstrate how subtle and far-reaching influence operations can be.

In 2008, Chinese intelligence reportedly mobilized thousands of students during the Olympic Torch Run to suppress protests by Tibetans, Uighurs, and Falun Gong supporters. Russian espionage tactics have evolved from Cold War surveillance to infiltrating venture capital and tech startups, continuing the use of honeypots and intermediaries even after the Russian consulate closed in 2017.

Former intelligence officers liken China’s approach to an “Oklahoma land rush” for technology and intellectual property, casting a wide net across the U.S. Counterintelligence efforts face multiple challenges: startups often underreport suspicious activity, and the region’s open culture facilitates infiltration.

As the tech industry expands to hubs like Boulder, Chapel Hill, and Austin, experts warn new vulnerabilities are likely to emerge.