Chinese hackers impersonated ex-US official to steal emails from AI experts
Proofpoint said fewer than 10 people were targeted in a phishing campaign that sought credentials and intelligence on U.S. AI policymaking.
- On Thursday, cybersecurity firm Proofpoint revealed suspected Chinese hackers, dubbed TA419, impersonated prominent AI experts to target email accounts of policymakers and researchers at United States universities and think tanks.
- The campaign involved writing emails purporting to come from experts like Lynne Parker, a former senior White House Technology Policy official, to invite targets into fictitious policy projects or panels.
- Alex Engler, a former White House official, received an invitation to join an AI policy project on Wednesday, realizing the email felt "slightly, nebulously off" after checking with others in the field.
- Proofpoint said the targeting of fewer than 10 individuals suggested "an intelligence interest in US policymaking rather than technology theft alone," indicating hackers sought policy insights over stolen technology.
- While President Donald Trump discussed AI last week at the White House with Chinese leader Xi Jinping without a substantive accord, Beijing has long denied carrying out cyberespionage operations.
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95 Articles
TA419 gained first the confidence of American experts in AI policy and only then sent them the fake page he was trying to steal their accounts with.
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Cyber threats continue to evolve, with the Chinese-backed TA419 group targeting US AI experts through sophisticated phishing strategies. The targeting of US AI policy experts by the Chinese-backed TA419 group has been attributed to several phishing campaigns… The article “China-backed TA419 targets US AI experts” first appeared on Battery Robotics.
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