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Ask HN: What to do when you suspect your interview is with a state operative?

19 points puppycodes | 2 comments | 29 Aug 25 00:26 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source

I'm curious what HN thinks is the best course of action when you are reasonably certain you have interviewed someone who is attempting to gain access to your company from a certain place that is famously totalitarian.

Let's assume they are a state actor, Here are some things that crossed my mind:

- Citizens from this region of the world are forced to do this and it amounts to slave labor. I have empathy for their situation. What is a responsible way to report things like this?

- I try to avoid communicating with law enforcement in general, is the FBI or other US agency the only avenue to warn others?

- Without hiring this person, what exposure should we worry about? What precautions are worth taking in the future?

Thanks for your insights :)

1. runjake ◴[29 Aug 25 21:29 UTC] No.45069621[source]▶
If I was in the US and the state actor was not Israeli, I would contact my local FBI office and give them details.

They will be kinda rude and very short with you on the phone, but nonetheless, they will gather information from you, which will go into their systems and get paid attention to at some level. They seem especially interested in CN/NK/RU/IR actors, obviously.

If they were Israeli, I'd keep my mouth shut because I don't want to get in the middle of that, nor get on any radars.

replies(1): >>45071900 #
2. Spooky23 ◴[30 Aug 25 04:20 UTC] No.45071900[source]▶
Good advice. I’ve engaged with them before - in my case very professional to deal with.