The agency outlines nine operational security measures in its third Chinese-language video aimed at potential sources inside China.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has released a new video for Chinese citizens outlining nine step-by-step methods for establishing secure contact with the agency, according to a Jan. 16 post on X.
In the video, the CIA says it is seeking individuals inside China who have access to information about the country’s political system and are willing to share it safely.
“The CIA wants to know the truth about China,” the agency wrote in Chinese in the post. “We are looking for people who know the truth and can share it.”
The latest post marks the CIA’s third video specifically targeting audiences in China. It follows two Chinese-language videos released in May, which openly encouraged Chinese Communist Party officials to provide intelligence to the United States—an unprecedented move that drew widespread attention.
The new video focuses on operational security and offers nine practical steps for Chinese informants to minimize digital surveillance risks when contacting the agency.
According to the CIA, the first step is to purchase a new or secondhand communication device with cash or gift cards, without providing personal identification. For used devices, the agency advises performing a full factory reset. All pre-installed software, applications, antivirus programs, browser extensions, and other programs should be removed.
The second step involves connecting to public Wi-Fi at a public location to maintain anonymity. The CIA cautions informants to ensure their screens are not visible to security cameras or passersby and suggests using privacy screen protectors.
The agency then advises downloading a web browser and a virtual private network (VPN) from an American or Western company and stresses that these tools should be used consistently throughout the process.
In the fourth step, informants are instructed to create a new anonymous email address using an email service from a Western company, without entering any information that could be traced back to them. The email should be used for this purpose only.
Once these steps are completed, the CIA advises users to directly enter the agency’s official website address rather than searching for it through a search engine. The video also provides instructions for contacting the CIA through its dark web portal using the Tor browser, offering both an onion address and a standard CIA website link.
