This is your Dragon's Code: America Under Cyber Siege podcast.

Okay, let’s jump straight into the cyber dragon’s lair, because this week in the world of code—America’s digital infrastructure was front row center for China’s most sophisticated cyber shenanigans yet. I’m Ting, your go-to for all things China, hacking, and why your city’s traffic lights might suddenly get a mind of their own.

First up: since January, experts at Cisco Talos noticed Chinese-speaking threat actors targeting U.S. municipalities, specifically exploiting a vulnerability—CVE-2025-0994—in Trimble Cityworks. If you don’t know Cityworks, imagine the digital backbone for utilities, water, and city service management. These hackers used a classic but clever approach: they slipped into the system through the unpatched flaw, aiming for maximum access and minimal detection. Once inside, they pivoted laterally, scanning for anything juicy from water plant schematics to emergency call routing servers. Basically, think “Mission Impossible” but from a dimly lit Beijing basement.

The evidence? It’s pretty damning. Forensics traced the command-and-control traffic to infrastructure long associated with Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon, infamous state-sponsored Chinese groups. Hardcoded Mandarin-language code comments and familiar encryption routines basically put a big red stamp on the operation. Experts like Bryson Bort—ex-Army Cyber Institute board member—warned, “Chinese hackers are already positioned in American critical systems,” highlighting that these aren’t your average ransomware crews. Their toolkit included zero-days, custom malware, and even AI-driven secondary attacks to cover their tracks.

And it gets spicier: the U.S. Treasury Department was also targeted recently, with attacks focusing on economic sanctions offices. According to intelligence published by The Soufan Center, the timing is no accident—right before a presidential transition, and right after sanctions on Chinese firms. Beijing’s goal? Gather sensitive intel, disrupt military supply lines, and be ready to flick the switch in the event of a Taiwan crisis.

Meanwhile, May 14th brought a new twist: Reuters revealed that rogue communication devices were found nestled inside Chinese-made solar inverters on the U.S. power grid. These little gremlins provided hidden communication channels, potentially letting attackers bypass firewalls to—yep, you guessed it—wreak havoc on demand. Mike Rogers, former NSA director, put it bluntly: China’s betting that their tech woven into America’s infrastructure limits Western response options.

How’s Uncle Sam fighting back? House Republicans have reintroduced the Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act, mandating a whole-of-government reassessment and boosting funding for public-private cyber defense programs. On the ground, municipalities rushed out emergency patches, retired vulnerable hardware, and launched 24/7 threat hunt teams.

So, what’s the big lesson? The dragon’s code is insidious and persistent—but awareness, collaboration, and not skimping on those security updates can keep America ahead. As Bryson Bort quipped, “Preparedness, not panic, is your best firewall.” Stay patched, stay sharp, and maybe keep an old-fashioned flashlight handy—just in case the lights go out!

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