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The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (SCCCP) has issued a stark warning about a series of highly targeted cyber-espionage campaigns allegedly backed by Beijing, saying the attacks are designed to compromise US government agencies, trade policy experts, and organisations involved in high-level US-China negotiations.
According to the Committee, the campaigns targeted a wide range of entities, including U.S. business organisations, law firms, think tanks, and at least one foreign government, to influence US policy deliberations and negotiation strategies, thereby giving China a strategic advantage. The Committee revealed that, in recent weeks, suspected Chinese cyberattackers repeatedly impersonated SCCCP Chairman John Moolenaar in emails to trusted contacts. These emails contained files and links that, if opened, would have allowed attackers to infiltrate victims' systems and extract sensitive information during ongoing high-level US-China trade engagements, without the victims' knowledge. The Committee concluded that the perpetrators leveraged software and cloud services to mask their activities, a tactic widely recognised as a hallmark of state-sponsored cyber operations. "This is another example of China's offensive cyber operations designed to steal American strategy and leverage it against Congress, the Administration, and the American people," Chairman Moolenaar said. "We will not be intimidated, and we will continue our work to keep America safe." The latest revelations come on the heels of a January 2025 spear-phishing campaign that targeted four SCCCP staff members involved in a confidential investigation into ZPMC, a major Chinese state-owned enterprise and manufacturer. In that incident, cyberattackers posed as a ZPMC North America representative, using a deceptive file-sharing tactic to lure staffers to a malicious web page designed to steal Microsoft 365 login credentials, without deploying any malware. Committee investigators said the timing, sophistication, and targets of these campaigns indicate they are part of a broader CCP-backed espionage effort. The analysis reveals that the attackers utilised advanced developer tools to create concealed access points within systems and covertly transfer data to their own servers. The SCCCP confirmed that it has shared its findings with the FBI and US Capitol Police and will continue to provide threat indicators to federal authorities and affected organisations. The Committee pledged full support for any defensive or investigative actions required to safeguard US national security interests. (ANI)
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