Chinese hackers impersonated a former White House AI official to spy on policy experts
A China-linked group posed as real US officials and an Anthropic employee to trick AI policy experts into handing over login credentials.
What happened: Cybersecurity firm Proofpoint reported that a China-aligned hacking group called TA419 has been impersonating well-known US AI policy figures since April 2025, including Lynne Edwards Parker, a former deputy director at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In July, the group used Parker's identity, among others, to approach policy experts at think tanks, defence contractors, universities and law firms in the US and Japan.
Why it matters: The targets were people who influence how AI gets regulated and discussed in Washington and allied governments. Stealing their credentials could give a foreign intelligence operation a window into unpublished policy drafts, closed-door discussions and professional networks, right as the US and China are negotiating sensitive ground rules for AI. Proofpoint says it expects the same group to keep going after this community.
How it works, plainly: The hackers first sent low-key, friendly emails, such as fake invitations to join an 'AI Policy Advisory Committee,' to get a reply. Once a target engaged, they were pushed to a convincing fake login page. The page used a technique that fakes an entire browser pop-up window inside a real site, making a credential-stealing prompt look like a normal, legitimate sign-in box.
The rollout: Reuters confirmed one target was Alex Engler, a former White House official who now runs a media and tech policy center at the University of Pennsylvania; he said he spotted the impersonation only after checking with colleagues. Proofpoint noted the same group impersonated a prominent Anthropic employee in a similar campaign back in February, suggesting a pattern of reusing trusted AI-world names to open doors.