Now accepting applications — for classified intel

Foreign adversaries are using fake jobs and consulting gigs to coax secrets from former U.S. officials. It’s had results, and the efforts don’t appear to be slowing.

Over the past year, waves of federal layoffs have left thousands of government employees and contractor clients suddenly out of work. For foreign intelligence services, that disruption has opened new opportunities. With more former U.S. officials seeking employment or freelance work — often in specialized national security fields — adversaries, namely China, have stepped in, posing as consulting firms, research groups and recruiters.

The efforts aren’t tied to traditional signals intelligence or hacking. They’ve instead relied on human contact: conversations that begin over email or job platforms and evolve into targeted efforts to extract sensitive information. It’s a form of classic human intelligence — or HUMINT, in spy terms — adapted to the everyday churn of online job hunting that ...