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.
72 Articles
72 Articles
China-Linked Hackers Impersonate US AI Experts in Espionage Campaign
An email landed in Alex Engler’s inbox appearing to come from someone he knew by reputation: Lynne Parker, a former senior White House artificial intelligence official. The message was not threatening or obviously suspicious. It invited Engler, himself a former White House official and an AI policy expert, “to join a new AI policy project.” […]
Chinese Hackers Accused of Stealing Email from A.I. Experts
A cybersecurity firm called Proofpoint issued a report on Thursday that provided evidence of Chinese hackers attempting to steal emails from artificial intelligence (A.I.) experts at American and Japanese universities and research organizations.
(San Francisco = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kwon Young-jeon = Hackers linked to the Chinese government have been impersonating U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) policy officials and AI company executives as spies...
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