NYT: Chinese hackers spy on Russia’s military technology despite Putin-Xi’s ‘boundless partnership’
19 June 2025 15:27
Despite the official “unlimited partnership” between Russia and China, Chinese hackers regularly carry out cyberattacks on Russian government agencies and defense companies to obtain military secrets. The New York Times writes about this, citing cybersecurity experts and a leaked internal FSB document, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Cyberespionage activities became especially active in May 2022, a few months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
According to analysts, China is using the war to gain access to the experience of modern warfare, Western weapons and tactics used by Russian troops. This may be part of Beijing’s preparations for possible future conflicts, in particular around Taiwan.
Despite close economic cooperation with Russia, China considers Russia a vulnerable target for espionage: Beijing has a technological advantage, but lacks the real combat experience that Moscow possesses. In an internal document of the Russian FSB, which was obtained by the NYT, China is explicitly called an “enemy” that preys on Russia’s military developments and experience.
According to the American company Palo Alto Networks, one of the Chinese government hacking groups hacked into the systems of the Rostec concern and gained access to data on satellite communications, radars, and electronic warfare. Other groups have attacked Russian government agencies and the aviation industry by exploiting vulnerabilities in Microsoft Word programs.
In 2023, the Russian company Positive Technologies also recorded hacker attacks on enterprises in the defense, aerospace, and security sectors. The attackers used Deed RAT, a program that, according to experts, is used only by Chinese state hackers and is not available on the open or black market.
Among the most active groups is Mustang Panda, which, after the outbreak of a full-scale war, expanded its geography of attacks and began working against Russian and European government agencies. Experts believe that this group operates under the control of China’s Ministry of State Security, the country’s main intelligence agency.
In the United States, Mustang Panda is considered a Chinese state hacker organization.
