CrowdStrike Says China-Linked Hackers Drove 58% of State Cyberattacks on U.S. Tech AI
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Jun 10
CrowdStrike Says China-Linked Hackers Drove 58% of State Cyberattacks on U.S. Tech AI
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Jun 10
Summary
China-linked groups accounted for more than 58% of state-sponsored targeted cyberattacks on tech companies over the 12 months through March 31, with AI assets a primary target, CrowdStrike said.
CrowdStrike said the campaigns aim to steal AI capabilities and intellectual property that Chinese entities cannot develop fast enough on their own as U.S. curbs limit China's access to advanced AI training chips.
The report said Chinese-affiliated operators also targeted government communications in Southeast Asia and kept persistent access to North American tech organizations by exploiting vulnerabilities.
CrowdStrike separately found North Korea-linked actors trying to infiltrate IT workforces across North America, Europe and Asia, mainly to raise revenue for Pyongyang.
The warning adds to earlier complaints from Anthropic and OpenAI that Chinese companies were extracting competitive intelligence from U.S. AI firms.
Are U.S. chip sanctions backfiring by accelerating China's AI development and cyber espionage?
With AI now capable of finding security flaws, are we entering a new era of automated cyber warfare?
As AI giants lose money despite massive revenues, is the industry heading towards a 'subprime AI crisis'?
The Agentic Era: How AI-Driven Cyber Attacks and Espionage Are Reshaping Global Security (2025-2026)
Overview
The 2025-2026 cyber threat landscape is defined by an escalating arms race, as the rise of the 'agentic era' enables adversaries to use artificial intelligence to accelerate their capabilities. Attackers now exploit trust and leverage AI to enhance their operations, moving across domains to stay hidden. For example, groups like Renaissance Spider use AI to tailor attacks, such as translating lures to target specific regions. Defenders must respond at machine speed, adopting unified platforms that can reason and act as quickly as attackers, while also securing their own AI systems against these evolving threats.