Hacker News with Generative AI: Espionage

UK's GCHQ Intern Transferred Top Secret Files to His Phone (bbc.com)
A former GCHQ intern has admitted risking national security by taking top secret data home with him on his mobile phone.
The North Korea worker problem is bigger than you think (cyberscoop.com)
North Korean nationals have infiltrated businesses across the globe with a more expansive level of organization and deep-rooted access than previously thought, insider risk management firm DTEX told CyberScoop.
Foreign Spies to Team Trump: Fist, Flag, Fire (nytimes.com)
If you’re running the security directorate of a hostile nation, savor this moment. It’s never been easier to steal secrets from the United States government.
Chinese hacking is becoming bigger, better and stealthier (economist.com)
Experts say it is the main shift in the cyber-threat landscape in a decade
A Signal Update Fends Off a Phishing Technique Used in Russian Espionage (wired.com)
Google warns that hackers tied to Russia are tricking Ukrainian soldiers with fake QR codes for Signal group invites that let spies steal their messages. Signal has pushed out new safeguards.
Two women who spied for Russia tracked down and named by BBC (bbc.com)
Two women who were part of a Russian spy network run from the UK are named for the first time today by a BBC investigation.
NYPD sergeant is suspended over 'spying for the Chinese' (dailymail.co.uk)
An NYPD sergeant in the detective bureau is under investigation by the FBI for allegedly spying for the Chinese government, sources exclusively tell DailyMail.com.
Ex-US Attorney Jessica Aber Investigated Russia, CIA Leaker Before Death (newsweek.com)
Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Jessica Aber, who was found dead at the age of 43 by Virginia authorities on Saturday, was at the helm of high-profile investigations into intelligence leaks, allegations of war crimes against Russian-linked individuals and people suspected of providing sensitive U.S. technology to Moscow before she stepped down at the start of the year.
Microsoft isn't fixing 8-year-old shortcut exploit abused for spying (theregister.com)
An exploitation avenue found by Trend Micro has been used in an eight-year-long spying campaign, but there's no sign of a fix from Microsoft, which apparently considers this a low priority.
Rippling suing Deel for espionage after Slack honeypot worked (rippling.com)
San Francisco, CA, March 17, 2025 – Deel, a $12-billion unicorn company, orchestrated a multi-month campaign to steal a competitor’s confidential business information with help from a corporate spy, according to a lawsuit filed today in the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division.
Expired Juniper routers find new life – as Chinese spy hubs (theregister.com)
Chinese spies have for months exploited old Juniper Networks routers, infecting the buggy gear with custom backdoors and gaining root access to the compromised devices.
Three people guilty of spying for Russia from Great Yarmouth seaside guesthouse (news.sky.com)
Two women and a man have been found guilty of spying for Russia in a huge espionage operation from a guesthouse in Great Yarmouth.
US Army soldiers accused of selling military secrets to buyers in China (cnn.com)
US charges Chinese hackers who targeted dissidents (bbc.com)
US prosecutors have charged 12 Chinese nationals for being part of an alleged hacking scheme, which sold data of US-based dissidents to the Chinese government.
Silk Typhoon targeting IT supply chain (microsoft.com)
Executive summary: Microsoft Threat Intelligence identified a shift in tactics by Silk Typhoon, a Chinese espionage group, now targeting common IT solutions like remote management tools and cloud applications to gain initial access.
NSO Group executives charged for responsibility in the Pegasus espionage case (iridia.cat)
The Provincial Court has ruled in favour of Irídia and ordered the indictment of three NSO Group executives. They will be investigated for the alleged crime of discovery and disclosure of secrets.
US Intel shows Russia and China trying to recruit disgruntled federal employees (cnn.com)
(ODNI) the Games They Play: Russian Strategic Political Deceptions (2008) [pdf] (governmentattic.org)
US judge grants CIA impunity in Assange visitors case (twitter.com)
An inside look at NSA tactics, techniques and procedures from China's lens (inversecos.com)
Since I reside in a Five Eyes country (Australia) and have publicly presented four cases I led on China’s APT41 attacking organisations in ASEAN, particularly concerning China’s cyber and political strategies, I was curious to explore what China publishes about Five Eyes operations.
A Signal Update Fends Off a Phishing Technique Used in Russian Espionage (wired.com)
Google warns that hackers tied to Russia are tricking Ukrainian soldiers with fake QR codes for Signal group invites that let spies steal their messages. Signal has pushed out new safeguards.
Multiple Russia-aligned threat actors actively targeting Signal Messenger (cloud.google.com)
Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has observed increasing efforts from several Russia state-aligned threat actors to compromise Signal Messenger accounts used by individuals of interest to Russia's intelligence services.
More victims of China's Salt Typhoon crew emerge: Telcos now hit via Cisco bugs (theregister.com)
China's Salt Typhoon spy crew exploited vulnerabilities in Cisco devices to compromise at least seven devices linked to global telecom providers and other orgs, in addition to its previous victim count.
Australian spies tracked down Russian cyber-gang responsible for data leak (9news.com.au)
Exclusive: Siberian nightlife has its opportunities. Just ask Australian cyber-spies, who used a vodka-soaked night in a seedy bar to smash a multi-million-dollar business run by dodgy Russians warehousing stolen data.
Crimelords and spies for rogue states are working together, says Google (theregister.com)
Google says the the world's lawmakers must take action against the increasing links between criminal and state-sponsored cyber activity.
Exclusive – Chinese Spy Balloon Was Packed with American Tech (newsweek.com)
A Chinese spy balloon that crossed over the United States in 2023 was packed with American technology that could have enabled it to spy on Americans, according to two sources with direct knowledge of a technical analysis conducted by the U.S. military.
The 'Mosaic' Method and the Value of CIA Names to U.S. Adversaries (lawfaremedia.org)
Former Google engineer indicted for spying for Communist China (justice.gov)
A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment today charging Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, 38, with seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets in connection with an alleged plan to steal from Google LLC (Google) proprietary information related to AI technology.
Chinese National Charged with Plan to Steal AI Technology from Google (justice.gov)
A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment today charging Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, 38, with seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets in connection with an alleged plan to steal from Google LLC (Google) proprietary information related to AI technology.
Ex Federal Reserve advisor charged with economic espionage to benefit China (cnbc.com)