- By Shivangi Sharma
- Thu, 23 Oct 2025 03:49 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
In the shadow of Silicon Valley’s sleek innovation and billion-dollar startups, a silent war is intensifying, one that trades guns and gadgets for seduction and manipulation. Intelligence experts have sounded the alarm on a growing espionage tactic dubbed “sex warfare”, where foreign operatives, often Chinese or Russian, use romantic or sexual relationships to gain access to US technological secrets.
Unlike traditional cyberattacks, these operations exploit human vulnerability. Reports suggest that some spies even marry their targets and have children, securing long-term access to sensitive corporate or defence information. Experts warn that this intimate form of espionage threatens to undermine America’s technological dominance from within.
James Mulvenon, chief intelligence officer at Pamir Consulting, a firm that advises US companies investing in China, has seen the trend escalate sharply. “I’m receiving an enormous number of very sophisticated LinkedIn requests from the same type of attractive young Chinese women,” he told The Times. “It really seems to have ramped up recently.”
At a recent business conference in Virginia focused on Chinese investment risks, Mulvenon said two young Chinese women tried to gain entry despite not being invited. “We didn’t let them in,” he recalled. “But they had all the information about the event and everything else.”
A counterintelligence veteran of 30 years, Mulvenon described “sex warfare” as a “real vulnerability” for the US due to cultural and legal constraints on conducting similar operations. “They have an asymmetric advantage when it comes to sex warfare,” he warned.
Silicon Valley: The New Espionage Frontier
The world’s most powerful tech hub has become a “Wild West” of espionage, according to Jeff Stoff, a former US security analyst. From AI and defence tech to semiconductor startups, the region’s open, collaborative culture has made it a magnet for spies.
Mulvenon describes China’s approach as “drafting”, investing in or acquiring stakes in US startups with Department of Defence contracts to indirectly access research and development. “It’s the Wild West out there,” he said, noting that even friendly nations like South Korea and Israel quietly gather intelligence in the Valley.
Russian operatives, too, have adapted Cold War “honeypot” tactics for the digital age, infiltrating venture capital circles and tech incubators. After the closure of the Russian consulate in 2017, intelligence experts say these efforts have only gone underground.
Former US intelligence officers compare China’s strategy to an “Oklahoma land rush” for intellectual property, broad, relentless, and often overlooked. Yet counterintelligence efforts lag behind. Many startups underreport suspicious behaviour to avoid scaring off investors, leaving doors wide open to infiltration.