China-linked hackers hit US, Canada research facilities, Google says

Google said on Monday that a Chinese-linked hacking group had covertly stolen data for over a year from academic, medical, and military research institutions in the U.S. and Canada before being detected.

Between September 2023 and November 2025, the ‌hackers sought information related to defense intelligence, military strategy in the Indo-Pacific, artificial intelligence, unmanned vehicles, cyber warfare programs and medical research, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group said in a report, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

Google did not name the ​targeted organizations, but said their work covered a broad range of fields, from ​drug discovery and clinical trials to public health policy and military ⁠readiness, and that they collectively employ thousands of people with a combined research ​budget running into the billions of dollars.

Google has attributed the campaign to a hacking ​group it calls UNC6508, a relatively new and little-known cyberespionage player. Luke McNamara, deputy chief analyst at Google Threat Intelligence Group, said the organization's methods are broadly consistent with Chinese-linked hacking activity seen over ​many years, focused on gathering information likely to be of interest to the ​Chinese government.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli