Chinas cyber espionage operations escalated sharply last year, surging by 150% in 2024, according to a report published Thursday by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, The Hill reported.
The report highlights an aggressive increase in cyber activities, particularly targeting key industries and leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance attacks.
The 2025 Global Threat Report from CrowdStrike found that cyber operations linked to China saw a significant uptick in 2024, with attacks on the financial services, media, manufacturing, and industrial sectors rising by 200% to 300% compared to the previous year.
U.S. officials have frequently warned about China-backed cyber threats aimed at American intellectual property and critical infrastructure.
The new report adds to concerns about the growing sophistication and scale of these attacks.
CrowdStrike's findings underscore the increasing use of AI in cyber operations. The report detailed how adversaries employ AI-powered tactics, particularly in phishing and impersonation scams.
According to the report, voice phishing attacks, in which perpetrators call victims to extract sensitive information, spiked by 442% last year.
"From fictitious profiles to AI-generated emails and websites," the report stated, adversaries "are using genAI to supercharge insider threats and social engineering."
The report also noted that the availability of commercial large language models is making cybercriminals more efficient.
"Along with legitimate organizations, easy access to commercial large language models (LLMs) is making adversaries more productive, too," the report added. "It's shortening their learning curve and development cycles, and it's allowing them to increase the scale and pace of their activities."
As AI-driven cyber tactics become harder to detect, CrowdStrike called on organizations to strengthen their defenses against these evolving threats.
Despite the increasing use of AI for malicious purposes, the firm described the advancements as "largely iterative and evolutionary" rather than completely novel.
CrowdStrike also emphasized leveraging AI to help its clients predict and counteract cyber threats.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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