11 February 2026
China's Cyber Wolves at the Data Buffet: Salt Typhoon's Wild Ride from US National Guard to Norway Telecoms
Red Alert: China's Daily Cyber Moves
About
This is your Red Alert: China's Daily Cyber Moves podcast.
Hey listeners, Ting here, your go-to cyber sleuth on all things China hacking chaos. Buckle up, because the past few days have been a red alert frenzy with PRC cyber wolves circling US targets like sharks at a data buffet. Let's dive into today's hottest mess: Google Threat Intelligence Group's bombshell report flags China-nexus crews like UNC3886 and UNC5221 hammering the defense industrial base harder than ever. These sneaky operators are all about edge devices—think vulnerable routers and appliances—for that sweet initial access, then pivoting to espionage goldmines in aerospace firms and supply chains. Over the last two years, they've outpaced everyone in volume, per GTIG's February 11 analysis.
Flash back to the timeline: Just days ago, the FBI's Operation Winter Shield podcast dropped part two, with Brett Leatherman spilling tea on Salt Typhoon and Assault Typhoon. These Ministry of State Security beasts roped in Chinese firms like Integrity Technology Group to broker US network breaches. Salt Typhoon's not slowing—Breached.company reports they're expanding to Norway's telecoms after a year-long squat in the US National Guard networks, per Dark Reading. Imagine that: PRC hackers chilling in Guard systems, siphoning intel while we sip coffee.
New patterns? Blended threats are the rage—nation-states outsourcing to criminals, DPRK-style IT workers moonlighting in hospitals, but China's leading with AI wizardry. Anthropic's November advisory nailed it: PRC ops used Claude AI for 80-90% of the kill chain, from recon to privilege escalation. FBI's Leatherman called out Flack's Typhoon too, all "whole of society" vibes.
CISA and FBI emergency alerts scream defensive must-dos: Patch those OT edge devices NOW, like post-Poland energy hack where RTUs got bricked and HMIs wiped via default creds. Change passwords, enable firmware checks, and drill incident response. Google's urging defense contractors to lock down recruitment—China's APT5 speared personal emails with fake job lures tied to events and training.
Escalation scenarios? If Salt Typhoon hits critical infra drills—SCWorld says China's rehearsing attacks via Expedition Cloud—this could flip from espionage to disruption. Picture ransomware on steroids blending with state ops, crippling power grids or defense production amid US-China tensions. North Korea and Russia's pitching in, but China's the volume king.
Listeners, stay vigilant: Segment networks, hunt anomalies, and report to CISA. We've got the tools—use 'em before it's game over.
Thanks for tuning in—subscribe for more cyber dirt! This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai.
For more http://www.quietplease.ai
Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
Hey listeners, Ting here, your go-to cyber sleuth on all things China hacking chaos. Buckle up, because the past few days have been a red alert frenzy with PRC cyber wolves circling US targets like sharks at a data buffet. Let's dive into today's hottest mess: Google Threat Intelligence Group's bombshell report flags China-nexus crews like UNC3886 and UNC5221 hammering the defense industrial base harder than ever. These sneaky operators are all about edge devices—think vulnerable routers and appliances—for that sweet initial access, then pivoting to espionage goldmines in aerospace firms and supply chains. Over the last two years, they've outpaced everyone in volume, per GTIG's February 11 analysis.
Flash back to the timeline: Just days ago, the FBI's Operation Winter Shield podcast dropped part two, with Brett Leatherman spilling tea on Salt Typhoon and Assault Typhoon. These Ministry of State Security beasts roped in Chinese firms like Integrity Technology Group to broker US network breaches. Salt Typhoon's not slowing—Breached.company reports they're expanding to Norway's telecoms after a year-long squat in the US National Guard networks, per Dark Reading. Imagine that: PRC hackers chilling in Guard systems, siphoning intel while we sip coffee.
New patterns? Blended threats are the rage—nation-states outsourcing to criminals, DPRK-style IT workers moonlighting in hospitals, but China's leading with AI wizardry. Anthropic's November advisory nailed it: PRC ops used Claude AI for 80-90% of the kill chain, from recon to privilege escalation. FBI's Leatherman called out Flack's Typhoon too, all "whole of society" vibes.
CISA and FBI emergency alerts scream defensive must-dos: Patch those OT edge devices NOW, like post-Poland energy hack where RTUs got bricked and HMIs wiped via default creds. Change passwords, enable firmware checks, and drill incident response. Google's urging defense contractors to lock down recruitment—China's APT5 speared personal emails with fake job lures tied to events and training.
Escalation scenarios? If Salt Typhoon hits critical infra drills—SCWorld says China's rehearsing attacks via Expedition Cloud—this could flip from espionage to disruption. Picture ransomware on steroids blending with state ops, crippling power grids or defense production amid US-China tensions. North Korea and Russia's pitching in, but China's the volume king.
Listeners, stay vigilant: Segment networks, hunt anomalies, and report to CISA. We've got the tools—use 'em before it's game over.
Thanks for tuning in—subscribe for more cyber dirt! This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai.
For more http://www.quietplease.ai
Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI