This is your Red Alert: China's Daily Cyber Moves podcast.I’m Ting, and we’re going straight to Red Alert on China’s daily cyber moves against the United States.Over the past few days, the big story has been quiet, long-term Chinese positioning inside U.S. critical infrastructure, not flashy ransomware. Check Point Software’s new report, “Threats to the Homeland: Cyber Operations Targeting US Government and Critical Infrastructure,” lays out how state‑aligned Chinese groups are shifting from smash‑and‑grab to “strategic access” operations, burrowing into electric grid control systems, telecom backbones, and federal networks to sit and wait for a future crisis.Timeline it with me.First phase, mid‑2024 through mid‑2025: Chinese clusters like the ones the FBI and CISA tie to Beijing pivot from basic espionage to pre‑positioning. According to Check Point, they prioritize supply‑chain routes into U.S. government networks, with a roughly 40‑plus percent jump in compromises via third‑party platforms. That’s how you get into multiple agencies with one well‑placed backdoor.Second phase, late 2025: that patient access is now woven into geopolitics. The Check Point team notes that intrusions into grid operators and telecoms spike around Taiwan flashpoints and South China Sea tensions. Think of it as Beijing’s dimmer switch: not war, but a hand resting on the light controls of America’s infrastructure.In parallel, U.S. media like CyberNews describe how Chinese espionage group Salt Typhoon compromised at least nine U.S. telecom companies in 2024, stealing call records and sensitive communications from high‑value government targets. Officials warn that Salt Typhoon and similar groups are not just listening; they are mapping which switches to flip if a conflict with China breaks out.Today’s most critical pattern: blending cloud, telecom, and OT. Chinese operators are using cloud identity abuse to hop from SaaS platforms into on‑prem networks, then pivoting into operational technology that runs power, water, and transportation. Check Point’s telemetry shows precisely this IT‑to‑OT move becoming routine in 2024–2025, with persistent access treated as a strategic asset, not a one‑off hack.So what are CISA and the FBI screaming about right now, even if they don’t always name China in public? Emergency directives pushing agencies to inventory exposure, hunt for long‑dwell implants, and close supply‑chain gaps. Their guidance lines up with the Check Point assessment: assume compromise, prioritize identity systems, patch edge devices, segment OT from IT, and continuously monitor for living‑off‑the‑land behavior in critical infrastructure providers.Potential escalation scenarios? First, signaling: limited disruptions in regional grids or telecom routes during a Taiwan or South China Sea crisis, just long enough to rattle markets and pressure Washington. Second, coercion: targeted outages against logistics hubs, ports, or emergency services to shape U.S. decision‑making. Third, worst‑case: coordinated activation of pre‑positioned access across energy, communications, and government networks to slow U.S. military deployment.Defensively, that means U.S. operators need continuous threat hunting focused on Chinese tradecraft, red‑teaming with an IT‑to‑OT pivot, and hardening telecom and cloud identity as if they were weapons systems—because in Beijing’s playbook, they are.Thanks for tuning in, listeners. Stay patched, stay paranoid, and don’t forget to subscribe for more China‑meets‑cyber deep dives. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.For more http://www.quietplease.aiGet the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOtaThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

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