High technology can hardly prevent old tricks. The beauty trap has become a weapon of international intelligence warfare.

Artificial intelligence (AI), superchips and cyber warfare may be changing the face of modern espionage, but some secrets are still obtained through traditional means: beauty and scandal.

Agence France-Presse reported that the latest controversy in the technology world has focused on Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang and his extramarital affair with a woman. The U.S. government accuses the woman of working for Chinese intelligence services, a charge Beijing denies.

This incident has once again brought the "honey trap" into the spotlight and rekindled interest in this ancient espionage technique. This tactic uses attraction and intimacy as tools to steal state secrets and influence the decisions of those in power.

● Temptation and blackmail

Throughout history, many powerful politicians and inner-circle insiders have fallen into traps set by others. These people are instructed to get close to the target, gain trust, and then obtain intelligence or gain leverage that can be used to exert pressure.

One of the most famous femme fatales in espionage history is Dutch dancer Mata Hari. She was accused of spying for Germany during World War I and executed in 1917.

There were many similar cases with twists and turns during the Cold War. Clement Renault, a researcher at the French Institute for Strategic Studies (IRSEM), said that Maurice Dejean, the French ambassador to the Soviet Union, was recalled to the country in 1964 due to an extramarital affair.

Renault pointed to another well-known case in which the Soviet State Security Council (KGB) blackmailed British Embassy employee John Vassal with "intimate same-sex photos secretly taken in Moscow."

In the 1980s, whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, who revealed details of Israel's secret nuclear program, was set up by a woman codenamed "Cindy" to lure him into the hands of his kidnappers.

Some honey traps even last for years. In the 1960s, Peking opera actor Shi Peipu, who secretly worked for the Chinese intelligence service, had a 20-year extramarital affair with French diplomat Bernard Boursicot, who therefore provided sensitive intelligence to China.

● There are various ways to use honey traps

There are many types of honey traps. Some seducers were professionally trained personnel, such as East Germany's famous "Romeo spies," whose mission was to please lonely West German women in order to obtain key intelligence.

Later research by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) pointed out: "The shortage of marriageable men after World War II made single West German women who longed for the companionship of the opposite sex often become targets of East German male spies."

However, not every honey trap is as dramatic as the plot of a Hollywood movie.

Intelligence agencies also use sex workers, corporate executives, and well-connected people who are already active in the target's social circle. This is exactly what makes Huida’s accusations so concerning.

Researcher Renault pointed out that the woman involved in the extramarital affair, Huang Le, "used to hold a senior position at Megaspeed, a Singaporean company that specializes in AI computing infrastructure and has business dealings with Huida."

"She was allegedly recruited by China's Ministry of State Security to become an intelligence agent and had excellent access to Jen-Hsun Huang," Reno said.

● Too good to be true

Who is pulling a honey trap? Renault said that, simply put, almost all countries could do this.

"All intelligence agencies have the potential to engage in 'grab' operations and similar measures," he said.

But not all countries are equally capable of carrying out such operations. "These types of missions require an extremely high level of personal commitment and even physical toll on intelligence personnel," Reno said.

Therefore, he believes that authoritarian governments "that can exert greater pressure on citizens or are driven by strong ideologies" may be better positioned to require intelligence personnel to make such sacrifices.

Counterintelligence agencies often remind officials that espionage rarely begins with clandestine deals in dark alleys, as in the movies.

France's domestic intelligence agency once released a YouTube video titled: "Set-up by a foreign intelligence agency? It's never too late to seek help."

British authorities offer simpler advice. If someone's interest in you is unusually strong, or "too good to be true," "you should be wary." (Compiled by: Chen Yuting) 1151110