New Delhi, Oct. 29 -- A former Russian intelligence trainee has warned that foreign operatives are using romance scams and emotional manipulation to extract trade secrets from Silicon Valley's engineers and executives - an espionage tactic she says is spreading rapidly through the tech sector, according to a New York Post report.

Aliia Roza, a former Russian "sexpionage" trainee who defected to the United States, told The New York Post that she was trained from a young age to seduce and psychologically manipulate targets on behalf of state authorities.

The Rusiian spy's warning comes amid growing concerns over covert foreign operations exploiting social media and online dating platforms to infiltrate Western technology firms.

"They see...