According to a report quoted by an anonymous reader, a team of suspected Chinese hackers has infiltrated US software developers and law firms. The cyberattacks are part of a broader effort to gather intelligence for China’s trade war with the United States. Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm owned by Google, reported that the hackers have been active in recent weeks, targeting cloud-computing firms that American businesses rely on to store critical data. The breach is described as a significant cyber incident, comparable to Russia’s SolarWinds breach in 2020.
Mandiant analysts said the fallout from the breaches — the task of kicking out the hackers and assessing the damage — could last many months. In some cases, the hackers have lurked undetected in the US corporate networks for over a year, quietly collecting intelligence. The disclosure comes after the Trump administration escalated America’s trade war with China this spring by slapping unprecedented tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States. The tit-for-tat tariffs set off a scramble in both governments to understand each other’s positions.
Mandiant’s report highlights the growing threat of state-sponsored cyberattacks in the context of global trade tensions. The breach could have serious financial implications for the affected companies, as well as long-term consequences for US cybersecurity strategies. The incident underscores the importance of strengthening digital defenses in an era of increasing cyber threats from international adversaries.