• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

2

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

3

Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less

1

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

2

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

3

Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
TechHacking
Asia

A treasure trove of allegedly leaked documents on GitHub could show the scale of Chinese hacking—including an attack on NATO’s secretary general

By
Sarah Zheng
Sarah Zheng
,
Gao Yuan
Gao Yuan
, and
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Sarah Zheng
Sarah Zheng
,
Gao Yuan
Gao Yuan
, and
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 22, 2024, 4:49 AM ET
The trove of documents allegedly from a Chinese cybersecurity firm appear to detail successful attacks on high-value government targets, including NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.
The trove of documents allegedly from a Chinese cybersecurity firm appear to detail successful attacks on high-value government targets, including NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. Sven Hoppe—picture alliance via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

A huge trove of documents on GitHub appeared to outline in extraordinary detail the scope of China’s state-sponsored cyberattacks on foreign governments, transfixing the global security community.

Recommended Video

Hundreds of internal files attributed to the Shanghai-based cybersecurity vendor I-Soon, which works with Chinese government clients, were posted to the developers’ community owned by Microsoft Corp. this week. The documents, which industry experts believe to be authentic, appeared to reveal successful attacks on a series of high-value government targets in 2021 and 2022 from the UK foreign office to the Royal Thai Army and even NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, according to a review by Bloomberg News. Offices for the alleged targets didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Washington and Beijing have accused each other for years of cyber-espionage, including the use of state-sponsored actors to infiltrate sensitive databases. If genuine, the documents underscore the incredible diversity of targets as well as the commercial transactions that help fuel such cyber-activity behind the scenes.

“We have every reason to believe this is the authentic data of a contractor supporting global and domestic cyber-espionage operations out of China,” said John Hultquist, chief analyst at Mandiant Intelligence, a unit of Google Cloud. “We rarely get such unfettered access to the inner workings of any intelligence operation.”

The origins of the files are unclear, and Bloomberg News couldn’t independently verify their authenticity. Experts who have studied the documents highlight communications from the vendor—officially known as Shanghai Anxun Information Technology Co.—about selling stolen data to clients including the Ministry of Public Security and the Chinese military. This included data apparently obtained from Western governments such as the UK and Australia, as well as China-friendly countries like Pakistan.

Also notable were documents claiming the company could breach accounts and devices from U.S. tech companies from Microsoft Corp. to Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. I-Soon, Apple and Microsoft representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment. Google spokespeople didn’t have immediate comment when contacted. The Ministry of Public Security didn’t respond to a faxed request for comment.

China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said she wasn’t familiar with the matter when asked about it Thursday at a regular press briefing in Beijing. “In principle, China firmly opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyberattacks in accordance with law,” she added.

Security researchers say the documents offer a rare glimpse into the ecosystem of contractors that perform cyberattacks for the Chinese government. I-Soon, founded in 2010, has touted its contributions to national cybersecurity defenses, including posting an appreciation letter from the Communist Party’s branch in Chengdu, Sichuan, on social media.

“It is a very curated leak, which looks like a reprisal type job from someone out to get the victim in trouble with authorities around the world,” said David Robinson, co-founder of the Australian cybersecurity company Internet 2.0. “It makes a difficult situation for China’s central government on what to do about it.”

To be sure, there was little hyper-sensitive or potentially dangerous information contained in the documents, experts said. But it seemed to be the first major one from this type of Chinese cyber vendor, which in itself is significant and potentially embarrassing for Beijing, said Dakota Cary, a China-focused consultant at the US cybersecurity company SentinelOne.

“The Chinese government is quite concerned about global public opinion regarding attacking and they very clearly have a media strategy to promote narratives that China is the victim of Western hacking,” he said. “It’s not a Snowden moment, but it’s really going to be an issue internally—there is now leaked public data that other countries, including the U.S., can reference.”

About the Authors
By Sarah Zheng
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Gao Yuan
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Bloomberg
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

‘Godmother of AI’ and tech entrepreneurs draw investors by pivoting from chatbots to ‘world models’ saying AI has to read the room, not just books
AIRobots
‘Godmother of AI’ and tech entrepreneurs draw investors by pivoting from chatbots to ‘world models’ saying AI has to read the room, not just books
By The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
2 hours ago
‘We are in agony’: Today Show host Savannah Guthrie begs public for help as reports surface her missing 84-year-old mom might be dead
North AmericaMedia
‘We are in agony’: Today Show host Savannah Guthrie begs public for help as reports surface her missing 84-year-old mom might be dead
By The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
2 hours ago
Asia’s defense boom is rewiring the global arms supply chain
Commentaryarms, weapons, and defense
Asia’s defense boom is rewiring the global arms supply chain
By Chris OberoiJune 24, 2026
3 hours ago
Institute's Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel,on May 6, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.
RetailSpaceX
Elon Musk was the world’s first trillionaire for 12 days
By Eva RoytburgJune 24, 2026
4 hours ago
President Donald Trump pictured in September 2025 signing an executive order that overhauled the H-1B visa program.
EconomyImmigration
Trump’s international student crackdown kicked off a domino effect that could shave nearly $500 billion off the economy
By Tristan BoveJune 24, 2026
5 hours ago
How Home Depot is rebuilding retailing with AI
NewslettersCIO Intelligence
How Home Depot is rebuilding retailing with AI
By John KellJune 24, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
Economy
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
By Jacqueline MunisJune 24, 2026
17 hours ago
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
Retail
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
9 hours ago
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
Asia
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
10 hours ago
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
Success
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
17 hours ago
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 23, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.