Chinese hackers are running AI on stolen networks to avoid detection, Google says

One China-linked group targets academic, medical and military AI research, the report says.

Hackers working for Chinese intelligence are increasingly targeting American AI research and using AI in their operations, Google said Tuesday.

In its latest quarterly report, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group said that several hacker groups, including both intelligence agencies and cybercrime gangs, have moved from basic AI prompting to using AI agents that automate wide swaths of their intrusion.

The switch means hackers spend drastically less time actively hacking, and in some cases can conduct an entire campaign in less than six hours, the report says.

Google said that one Chinese group in particular, which it has tracked since 2023, has relentlessly focused on academic, medical and military research organizations in North America and has specifically gone after proprietary AI research. Google did not name any of the victims.

While American intelligence agencies also have powerful cyberespionage capabilities, the U.S. has long accused China of hacking its companies for economic advantage, a tactic Western countries generally say is unacceptable.