What's a Honey Trap? The spy tactic that helped topple Jensen Huang

Key Points:

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned following revelations of an affair with a female client identified by U.S. intelligence as a Chinese spy, a tactic known as a "honey trap," which involves using romantic relationships to gather intelligence.
• The Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) reportedly employs honey traps as part of a broader "whole of society approach" to intelligence gathering, leveraging ordinary citizens under legal obligation to cooperate with espionage efforts.
• Honey traps have a long history across various intelligence agencies worldwide, including China, Russia, East Germany, Israel, and the U.S., often targeting businessmen and officials to extract information or exert influence.
• The woman involved in the Nvidia case, Alice Huang, is described as a Chinese businesswoman and major Nvidia chip buyer, but some experts doubt she is a professional spy, suggesting she may be a "white glove" front for commercial deals potentially linked to the MSS.
• Despite the prevalence of honey traps in espionage lore and real-world cases, experts note that human vulnerabilities like ego and vanity continue to make such tactics effective, even as intelligence agencies increasingly adopt cyber and digital methods.