Chinese hackers have reportedly impersonated United States artificial intelligence experts, including a former White House official, in attempts to steal passwords and access emails belonging to AI specialists, a cybersecurity firm, Proofpoint, has said.
Proofpoint said in a report that the hackers, whom it identified as “TA419,” had targeted people working with US and Japanese think tanks, defence contractors, universities and law firms since at least 2025.
The cybersecurity company attributed the activity to a Chinese group based on the malware deployed, internet infrastructure used in the attacks and the nature of the targets, which it said were consistent with Chinese intelligence-gathering priorities.
According to Proofpoint, the latest campaign involved emails made to appear as though they were sent by AI or statecraft experts, including Lynne Parker, a former principal deputy director of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The emails reportedly proposed AI-related collaborations or initiatives before directing recipients to websites designed to steal their passwords.
One of the people targeted, Alex Engler, a former White House official who now heads the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy, told Reuters that he received an email appearing to be from Parker inviting him “to join a new AI policy project.”
Engler said the message “felt slightly, nebulously off” and that he discovered it was an impersonation after consulting others in the field.
Proofpoint said fewer than 10 people working for a handful of organisations had been targeted, adding that the pattern suggested “an intelligence interest in US policymaking rather than technology theft alone.”
Parker confirmed that Engler was one of two people who received suspicious messages appearing to have come from her in early July.
She said the allegation of Chinese involvement made sense, adding, “The United States and China are in a competition around AI. Trying to get people in the AI policy space to reveal information about their AI policy plans — if that indeed was what the objective was — it’s not surprising.”
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing has repeatedly denied conducting cyberespionage operations.
