Russian and Chinese intelligence assets reportedly employing “sex warfare”

“We’re not chasing a KGB agent in a smoky guesthouse in Germany anymore,” an unidentified top United States counterintelligence official told The Sunday Times. “Our adversaries—particularly the Chinese—are using a whole-of-society approach to exploit all aspects of our technology and Western talent.”

In espionage parlance, “whole-of-society” refers to nations targeting businesses, individuals, and institutions rather than government facilities.

One rapidly growing tool to do precisely that, as James Mulvenon, Pamir Consulting’s chief intelligence officer, explained in the same article, may involve an age-old—yet with a new, high-tech twist—technique: sex. “I’m getting an enormous number of very sophisticated LinkedIn requests from the same type of attractive young Chinese woman. It really seems to have ramped up recently.”

Mulvenon isn’t alone; the five other experts The Sunday Times interviewed also agreed that China, as well as Russia, appears to be doubling down on its seductive efforts. Making the honey traps more difficult to expose, both countries are relying less on trained professionals and more on civilian entrepreneurs, academics, investors, as well as—seemingly—plain, ordinary citizens.

The Spy Who Came

As an example, another anonymous counterintelligence specialist spoke of investigating an alluring Russian woman who had worked for, and was married to, a fellow US aerospace firm employee. The employee, after being exposed as having been trained by a “Russian soft-power school,” reappeared later as a cryptocurrency authority.

“But she doesn’t stay in crypto,” the specialist added. “She is trying to get to the heights of the military-space innovation community. The husband’s totally oblivious.”

RECOMMENDED READ: The Secret to Security: Do Sextech Sites Deserve Our Personal Info?

It’s a game the US is unfortunately particularly vulnerable to, as according to Mulvenon, “because we, by statute and by culture, do not do that. So they [other countries] have an asymmetric advantage when it comes to sex warfare.” Mulvenon himself was targeted, telling of being bombarded by “an enormous number of very sophisticated LinkedIn requests from the same type of attractive young Chinese woman.”

A Clear and Attractive Danger

Though The Sunday Times didn’t explore the concept, others in the intelligence and security communities are already warning about the dangers of honeypot 2.0: taking the tried-and-true technique and giving it an AI twist.

“As cyber threats grow more advanced, organizations and security teams face increasing pressure to keep up with how attackers operate,” Dr. Luis O. Noguerol, Advanced Division of Informatics and Technology’s President and CEO and authority on data security, writes for Cyber Security Tribe. “Traditional defenses, while effective to a degree, often react too slowly to new types of attacks and shifting methods. In response, cybersecurity is entering a new phase. One where artificial intelligence not only finds threats but also learns from them and adjusts in real time.”

Scary enough, but far more so when you factor in how difficult it’s getting to tell a deepfake from an actual, bona fide human being. Couple that with the resources entire governments can deploy—particularly China, which is already a world leader in AI development—and you can see why the US tech industry is worried.

Yes, I Expect You to Talk

Or, rather, they should be worried, as though security experts are sounding the alarm, they might have to fight a battle on two fronts: on one side is a host of more countries ready, willing, and frighteningly able to do anything and everything in order to abscond with as many cutting-edge secrets as they possibly can. Bad enough, but on the other hand are today’s toxically masculine tech bros; a subculture whose chest-thumping arrogance makes them extremely vulnerable to good, old-fashioned seductive praise.

Plus, they might think themselves too smart to fall for such an obvious ruse, when in reality, otherwise intelligent people have—and probably always will—be tricked by those who understand and can skillfully wield the power of sex.

Meanwhile, whether you’re a nice, juicy US technology sector target or just someone who has something someone else wants, first and foremost, think with your big brain, not your little one, and if something—or someone—seems too good to be true, then in all likelihood, they probably are.

Image Sources: Depositphotos

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Why do adult entertainment platforms need to know so much about us?

Towards the end of July 2025, BobDaHacker, a self-identified ethical hacker, claimed to have discovered a critical flaw in Lovense’s online security that could potentially allow access to the smart sextoy manufacturer’s online user base.

BobDaHack alerted Lovense, which proceeded to address the security issues. However, BobDaHacker remained vocal, arguing that more should have been done sooner, as evidenced by their blog post: “BOTH critical vulnerabilities were finally fixed on July 30, 2025—but only after public pressure forced their hand.”

In response, Dan Liu, Lovense’s CEO, made a statement to Engadget stating that during the breach there was,, “no evidence user data, including email addresses or account information, has been compromised or misused.”

Unfortunately, what might have happened to Lovense’s customers is nothing new, with industry leaders, like Emily Conway, Dragon Toys’ CEO, even warning Yahoo News that sextech users should remain extremely cautious, “Cybercriminals can intercept Bluetooth signals, gain unauthorised access to devices and even take complete control during use.”

Conway also brings up another important point concerning the importance of sextech security, saying, “Most apps ask for unnecessary access to your contacts, photos, or location data.”

So the question is, why do smart sextoy companies like Lovense need to know so much about us?

Under lock and key

Not suggesting protecting the identity of people who use and enjoy internet-connected pleasure devices should be a top priority, so until everything can be done to thoroughly ensure user privacy, maybe it’s time to rethink not only sextech’s online connectivity but online adult entertainment as well.

Now, it should be fairly obvious why we all want information regarding our sexual interests and activities to remain exclusively under our control: to avoid blackmail, unintended exposure to family or employers, religious zealots, or even, depending on where you may happen to reside, governmental persecution. 

However, this is only the case if the sensitive information is illicitly or, in some instances, accidentally exposed. 

RECOMMENDED READ: Securing Sextech: The Importance of Keeping Your Private Life—Private

Instead, let’s approach the problem from a different angle. Rather than requiring customers to use an email address or, worse yet, register via Google or other social media platforms, why not use a method that is totally separate from a user’s true identity?

A super-secure, specialized email; individualized biometrics; or two-factor authentication—it doesn’t matter as long as your sextech self cannot be traced back to your other, more public self.

What do they know—and why do they have to know it?

Accepting the fact that most companies, whether involved in manufacturing or selling sextech devices, like to know about us for marketing purposes, perhaps it’s also time to review why we need security to begin with.

Of course, we all deserve to keep our private lives private. Still, it seems as if by trying to gather too much information sextech and adult entertainment companies are making it impossible to be as secure as they should.

What we need is for the sextech and adult entertainment businesses to reexamine what online security could and must be all about.  For instance, keeping social media far away from anything to do with sextech products because otherwise, when Facebook, Twitter, or whatever gets inevitably breached, you might as well have posted what you like to do in bed.

Likewise, do we really need to register, thus putting our privacy on the line, when all we want to do is watch sexy movies, or play with a smart delete sextoy? Sure, it’s got to be 100% Bluetooth secure, as Conway mentioned, but how about focusing on that as a vital standalone feature instead of asking if we want—over and over and over again—to sign up for your companynewsletter?

Hardly a secret

As the situation with Lovense demonstrated, even highly regarded sextech companies struggle with preventing their customers’ personal information from falling into the wrong hands.

As wake-up calls go, this certainly seems like an extremely loud one—not just for one company but the sextech industry as a whole.  We can only hope that from this, we’ll see fewer fingers in inevitably leaky dikes and a clearer, more determined understanding of why and, most of all, how to ensure everyone’s right to privacy.   

Image Sources: Depositphotos

The post The Secret to Security: Do Sextech Sites Deserve Our Personal Info? appeared first on Future of Sex.

Sextoy manufacturers and customers need to take customer data protection seriously

Whether wearing BlueTooth-enabled chastity devices to experience the power-exchange pleasures of sexual denial play or enjoying the mutually interactive possibilities of Internet-connected sextoys, the new world of smart sextech devices is well on its way to enhancing the sex lives of millions of people.

But what happens if a hacker infiltrates the app controlling your chastity device holding your genitalia for ransom—or threatens to expose your interactive self-pleasuring activities unless they receive a certain amount in Bitcoins?

In a study conducted by Dr. Mark Cote, Dr. William Seymour, Dr. Jennifer Pybus, and Dalia Mariasin for the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, these and other types of sex toy hacking involving cloud-based services were explored. 

Add to that Apple allowing the first-ever adult content app to be downloaded on their iPhone platforms in the European Union and the ever-new round of remote sex toys being introduced seemingly every day, we can’t but wonder where we are, mid-way into this decade, in securing our ever-more technologically advanced sex toys and adult apps?

Buyer beware

As this year’s CES (Consumer Electronics Show) illustrated, a slew of new desktops and laptops featuring new chips running ever-advancing-AI software are well on their way, not to mention a slew of next-generation handhelds and a bevy of state-of-the-art BlueTooth-enabled sextoys

But connecting with a partner via the net, while something many have been doing for quite a while and surely a way of playing that opens all kinds of interesting sexual positive possibilities, also throws the lid of Pandora’s Box wide open.

As Adrian Gonzalez, Editorial Director of ToyChats, reminds us, “I hate to admit it, but sex toy apps aren’t immune to data breaches.” 

Emphasizing the need for users to be more security conscious, Adrian added, “It goes without saying, but make sure you’re on a private network when you’re using a sex toy app. You’re putting yourself and any virtual partners at risk if you’re using somebody else’s WiFi or a public network.”

How we got here

By the end of the new century’s first decade, sextoy manufacturers had begun equipping their products with a range of new, interactive technologies, including Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity.

However, while this period also saw a decrease and eventual near cessation of phthalate use in those same products—notably the result of Ulrich Krieg’s research—many of those same companies tended to fall behind in terms of securing their online-capable toys.

Companies start to step up

Fortunately, a growing number of sextech industry leaders are beginning to prioritize customer security more seriously.

“Safety and privacy are top priorities for us at Ohdoki, and we’ve built our devices with key safeguards to protect users from modern digital threats,” Ohdoki’s CEO, JP Wilhelmse, manufacturer of The Handy stroker and Oh! Vibrator told us.

For instance, Wilhelmse’s company has implemented new methods to help ensure user security and anonymity, starting by giving new customers the option to set up a personal account or not.  

Additionally, rather than storing personal data, Ohdoki now utilizes a unique, end-to-end encryption system to ensure that user data and personal communications remain fully protected.

Wilhelmse further summed up their dedication to consumer security, stating:

A strong database with a strong defending system is required for us to keep our app safe, I’m not an I.T. professor so it’s hard for me to explain this, however, what I know the fact is that the personal information was sold by someone in 99% of total cases, not hacked. This means that if we don’t sell this information, the chance of hacking is super low. And we never do something illegal.

Together we stand

In the current climate of what NexGenus calls “frictionless shopping,” a consumer state providing a “seamless customer journey where every touchpoint, from product discovery to checkout, is intuitive and efficient,” it’s becoming clear that most people aren’t fond of waiting for anything—let alone when purchasing smart sextoys. 

Leading, with the proliferation of rapid online checkouts, to suppliers needing to have their products ready to ship at a moment’s notice, but hopefully not sacrificing customer security in the process.

Although some companies are taking steps to keep their transactions and sales private, Adrian Gonzalez also reminds us that it’s just as imperative for buyers to remain acutely aware of their security risks and not let their desires get in the way of their common sense. 

Take control 

Adding to this Caveat Emptor approach, this ExpressVPN article provides even more salient (some might even say obvious) points, such as customers needing to adequately research not just what they are buying but who they are buying it from:

Has this manufacturer suffered security breaches, and, if so, how quickly and effectively were they addressed fixing these problems. These days, you don’t have to dig too deep for reviews…especially negative ones.

Another crucial security measure is to be aware of how a company acquires and uses customer information.

As for how to prevent someone from accessing your smart playthings, ExpressVPN recommends services such as theirs, writing, “VPN will not remove the risk of a hacker infiltrating your sex app maker’s servers. But it will prevent snooping on where exactly it is you might be going when connected to a WiFi sex toy.”

Lastly, be cautious when electronically sharing your Internet-of-things devices, particularly with companies that have a less-than-stellar security rating.  

Be smart, play safe

In the end, what we’ve always needed is well-reasoned, transparent communication between manufacturers and purchasers—no matter what the product is, where, why, and how it’s used—combined with customers also developing some much-needed shopping smarts.

Image Sources: Depositphotos

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