Suspected Chinese Hackers Posed as US AI Insiders, Proofpoint Says
A group of hackers believed to be acting on behalf of China pretended to be well-known American AI experts to obtain the email accounts of people who specialize in AI policy.
According to Reuters, security firm Proofpoint released its findings on Thursday. It identified the group as TA419 and noted that the hackers targeted individuals at think tanks, universities, and law firms involved in AI regulation, export controls, and national AI strategy.
Proofpoint linked the group to China through its malware, servers used in attacks, and target selection—all consistent with typical Chinese espionage activities. CNN reports that China has repeatedly denied US allegations of hacking.
The hackers sent emails using actual people's names. In February, they posed as a senior employee at Anthropic and emailed an AI policy analyst at a US think tank asking for feedback on the military use of Claude, Anthropic’s AI model. Later messages included malware-laced files or attempted to trick recipients into giving up their passwords.
Fewer than ten individuals in several groups were targeted, suggesting a focus on understanding US policy development rather than stealing technology. Reuters named Alex Engler, a former White House official now leading the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy, as one target.
Proofpoint stated that the group has been targeting US and Japanese think tanks, defense companies, universities, and law firms since at least 2025 and expects them to continue impersonating genuine experts.
By Alina Maria Stan
Alina Maria Stan builds connections that people actually feel. As co-founder and COO of Tekpon, she turns product intuition into real moments of discovery, shaping how teams find and adopt SaaS every day. Since 2020, she has led Tekpon’s brand voice, media strategy, and growth plays with a clear focus on human outcomes behind every metric.
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