Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Threat Actor Silently Forwarded Sensitive Emails Matching Strategic TopicsGoogle says Chinese espionage group UNC6508 compromised REDCap environments at North American research institutions, deployed custom malware, stole credentials and covertly forwarded strategically relevant emails through abused compliance rules to support long-term intelligence collection.

A long-term and ongoing campaign attributed to a China-nexus threat actor has embedded itself in telecom networks to conduct espionage against government networks

Executives pressed Congress for a strategy as the market – and attack surface – continues to expand. The post U.S. robotics companies want federal help to keep Chinese robots out of America’s networks appeared first on CyberScoop.

A suspected China-based cyber espionage operation has targeted Southeast Asian military organizations as part of a state-sponsored campaign that dates back to at least 2020

Report: China, Russia Exploiting US Cyber Policy Gaps to Gain Strategic AdvantageA new McCrary Institute report urges Washington to adopt a more offensive cyber strategy, warning that the current reactive approach leaves the U.S. unable to counter China and Russia’s persistent campaigns to gain asymmetric leverage in cyberspace.

CrowdStrike warned that Warp Panda, a China-linked cyber-espionage group, is targeting US organizations to steal sensitive data and support Beijing’s strategic interests

A China-nexus threat actor known as APT24 has been observed using a previously undocumented malware dubbed BADAUDIO to establish persistent remote access to compromised networks as part of a nearly three-year campaign

A China-aligned threat actor known as TA415 has been attributed to spear-phishing campaigns targeting the U.S. government, think tanks, and academic organizations utilizing U.S.-China economic-themed lures

A China-nexus threat actor known as UNC6384 has been attributed to a set of attacks targeting diplomats in Southeast Asia and other entities across the globe to advance Beijing's strategic interests

Report Urges Indo-Pacific Cyber Shield Strategy Amid Increased Nation-State ThreatsA Center for a New American Security study found China and North Korea are accelerating cyberattacks, influence operations and infrastructure breaches across the Indo-Pacific, as researchers urge the U.S. to help develop a regional cyber shield, and deploy forward cyber teams.

Shanghai Firm Bets on Open-Source Strategy, Efficiency ClaimsShanghai artificial intelligence startup MiniMax released a new open-source large language model, positioning it as a direct competitor to American and other Chinese models. MiniMax says its model performs competitively on benchmark tests against leading proprietary and open models.

SentinelOne discovered the campaign when they tried to hit the security vendor's own servers An IT services company, a European media group, and a South Asian government entity are among the more than 75 companies where China-linked groups have planted malware to access strategic networks should a conflict break out.…

Hackers Targeted Critical Infrastructure for Sabotage, Data TheftRussian and Chinese hackers targeted critical infrastructure in the Netherlands for strategic gains amid escalating tensions with Western governments, the Dutch intelligence agency said. The Netherlands witnessed a number of "cyberespionage attempts against the Dutch government."

AI Leaders Call for Proactive US Response Amid Chinese Technology BreakthroughsThe United States risks losing the so-called "AI Cold War" against China unless it abandons traditional containment strategies and adapts to Beijing's advances, panelists told lawmakers Tuesday. "I'm as stunned as all of you about just how fast China has caught up," said Adam Thierer.

Also: Rapid7's Boardroom Shake-Up, China's Shift Tactical Cyber ShiftIn this week's update, ISMG editors unpacked stealth vs. spectacle in ransomware attacks, Rapid7’s boardroom shake-up led by activist investors, and China's shift from cyber espionage to infrastructure sabotage - driving key shifts in global cybersecurity strategy and resilience.

Not Every New Generation of LLM Needs Exponentially More Chips, Says Tencent ExecChinese tech giant Tencent reported a slowdown in GPU deployment, attributing it to a prioritization among Sino tech companies of chip efficiency over raw numbers, a strategy made clear internationally by artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek.

Hackers Reportedly Exploited Barracuda ESG Zero-DayThe Belgian government opened a federal probe into a suspected Chinese espionage campaign targeting the country's civilian intelligence service. The attack on the Belgian government aligns with the broader Chinese strategy of compromising edge devices for stealth espionage campaigns.

Manufacturers May Have to Reassess Product Strategy to Maintain Competitive EdgeDeepSeek's entry into the AI market triggered a ripple effect, with a potential major impact on chipmakers. Shares of Nvidia, AMD and Intel took a hit immediately after the Chinese model's release and is forcing these silicon stalwarts to reassessment of their product strategies.

Japan's National Police Agency (NPA) and National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity (NCSC) accused a China-linked threat actor named MirrorFace of orchestrating a persistent attack campaign targeting organizations, businesses, and individuals in the country since 2019

‘MirrorFace’ group found ways to run malware in the Windows sandbox, which is worrying Japan’s National Police Agency and Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity have confirmed third party reports of attacks on local orgs by publishing details of a years-long series of attacks attributed to a China-backed source.…