On February 13, 2026, U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command posted a Valentine's Day-themed social media warning telling troops to 'report suspicious behavior' regarding potential honeytraps. The warning followed recent federal sentencing in two separate cases: retired Army Colonel Kevin Charles Luke received a two-year prison term for sending classified war plans to someone he met online (he pleaded guilty in November 2025), and retired Lt. Col. David Franklin Slater received 70 months for sharing Ukrainian war intelligence with someone he believed was a woman on a foreign dating site.
Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence Lt. Gen. Anthony Hale had previously warned over 1.1 million soldiers and civilians in November 2025 about foreign operatives posing as consulting firms, recruiters, and think tanks online. An ACIC spokesman told Military Times agents are seeing 'a massive uptick' in exploitation attempts. Hale noted the recent government shutdown left many personnel in difficult financial situations, potentially making them more vulnerable. A House Committee on Homeland Security report from February 2025 documented more than 60 CCP-linked espionage cases on U.S. soil over four years.
