Cyber-espionage
Chinese cyberspies breached dozens of telecom firms, govt agencies
Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG), Mandiant, and partners disrupted a global espionage campaign attributed to a suspected Chinese threat actor that used SaaS API calls to hide malicious traffic in attacks targeting telecom and government networks. The campaign has been active since at least 2023 and has impacted 53 organizations in 42 countries, with suspected infections […]
State actor targets 155 countries in ‘Shadow Campaigns’ espionage op
A state-sponsored threat group has compromised dozens of networks of government and critical infrastructure entities in 37 countries in global-scale operations dubbed ‘Shadow Campaigns’. Between November and December last year, the actor also engaged in reconnaissance activity targeting government entities connected to 155 countries. According to Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 division, the group has […]
Chinese Mustang Panda hackers deploy infostealers via CoolClient backdoor
The Chinese espionage threat group Mustang Panda has updated its CoolClient backdoor to a new variant that can steal login data from browsers and monitor the clipboard. According to Kaspersky researchers, the malware has also been used to deploy a previously unseen rootkit. However, a technical analysis will be provided in a future report. CoolClient has […]
New China-linked hackers breach telcos using edge device exploits
A sophisticated threat actor that uses Linux-based malware to target telecommunications providers has recently broadened its operations to include organizations in Southeastern Europe. Tracked internally by Cisco Talos as UAT-7290, the actor shows strong China nexus indicators and typically focuses on telcos in South Asia in cyber-espionage operations. Active since at least 2022, the UAT-7290 group also serves […]
Taiwan says China’s attacks on its energy sector increased tenfold
The National Security Bureau in Taiwan says that China’s attacks on the country’s energy sector increased tenfold in 2025 compared to the previous year. A report from the agency highlights that attackers targeted critical infrastructure in nine key sectors, and the total number of cyber incidents linked to China grew by 6%. The emergency rescue […]
FCC rolls back cybersecurity rules for telcos, despite state-hacking risks
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has rolled back a previous ruling that required U.S. telecom carriers to implement stricter cybersecurity measures following the massive hack from the Chinese threat group known as Salt Typhoon. The ruling came in January 2025 and took effect immediately under the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), in response to Salt Typhoon’s breaching multiple […]
Google exposes BadAudio malware used in APT24 espionage campaigns
China-linked APT24 hackers have been using a previously undocumented malware called BadAudio in a three-year espionage campaign that recently switched to more sophisticated attack methods. Since 2022, the malware has been delivered to victims through multiple methods that include spearphishing, supply-chain compromise, and watering hole attacks. Campaign evolution From November 2022 until at least September 2025, APT24 […]
Anthropic claims of Claude AI-automated cyberattacks met with doubt
Anthropic reports that a Chinese state-sponsored threat group, tracked as GTG-1002, carried out a cyber-espionage operation that was largely automated through the abuse of the company’s Claude Code AI model. However, Anthropic’s claims immediately sparked widespread skepticism, with security researchers and AI practitioners calling the report “made up” or the company of overstating the incident. “I […]
China-linked hackers exploited Lanscope flaw as a zero-day in attacks
China-linked cyber-espionage actors tracked as ‘Bronze Butler’ (Tick) exploited a Motex Lanscope Endpoint Manager vulnerability as a zero-day to deploy an updated version of their Gokcpdoor malware. The discovery of this activity comes from Sophos researchers, who observed the threat actors exploiting the vulnerability in mid-2025 before it was patched to steal confidential information. The flaw […]
Windows zero-day actively exploited to spy on European diplomats
A China-linked hacking group is exploiting a Windows zero-day in attacks targeting European diplomats in Hungary, Belgium, and other European nations. According to Arctic Wolf Labs, the attack chain begins with spearphishing emails that lead to the delivery of malicious LNK files themed around NATO defense procurement workshops, European Commission border facilitation meetings, and various […]