This is your US-China CyberPulse: Defense Updates podcast.

Hey listeners, Ting here. If your favorite VPN just sent you a panicky update, blame the news cycle—this week has been a cyber hurricane. China’s cyber squads have been turbocharging attacks on U.S. infrastructure and tech firms, from legal services to the software-as-a-service companies everyone relies on. Forget script kiddies; these are state-backed pros like the infamous UNC5221, and top-tier malware campaigns (looking at you, BRICKSTORM) that embed themselves so deep, it takes nearly 400 days for American systems to even sniff them out. Think stealth tech meets the patience of a Zen master—Google’s Threat Intelligence is pretty much living in whack-a-mole mode daily.

Behind the scenes, it’s not just about swiping trade secrets anymore; Beijing—Xi Jinping’s own brainchild—is probing zero-day vulnerabilities in our routers and smart infrastructure. Chinese hackers are playing the long game, setting up pivot points in networks so whenever there’s a real-world crisis, they can flip the switch and turn our infrastructure into digital spaghetti.

Gen. Tim Haugh, who used to run U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA, recently reminded 60 Minutes that China doesn’t care if it’s Littleton, Massachusetts or the New York metro—they’re scanning and infiltrating places you’d never imagine, not for economic gain but to have control points ready if things go bad. This isn’t your grandmother’s cyberwar; utility plants in small towns are now frontline defense. The U.S. response has been to double down on partnerships. The Trump administration, Department of Justice, and private sector are finally getting serious, hammering out information-sharing protocols instead of sweeping breaches under the rug. In March alone, twelve Chinese nationals got indicted for hacking over one hundred American organizations, including some targeting healthcare and the Treasury.

Private companies, whose silence has cost trillions in IP theft, now realize the price of discretion is too high. Big Tech’s biggest move this week was to start pooling data with federal agencies so vulnerabilities get patched fast—and not just quietly in a server closet. Meanwhile, Congress is pushing new bills for stronger public-private cybersecurity alliances, aiming to plug the talent drain and boost shared defensive tech. Regional Cybersecurity Centers, especially in agriculture and critical infrastructure, are getting fast-tracked. And don't underestimate the impact of AI: The White House’s 2025 AI Action Plan is accelerating threat identification and pushing AI-based attack simulations across government networks.

International cooperation is heating up too. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that, despite China’s massive rare earth export restrictions, the U.S. is rallying South Korea, Australia, and the EU for joint cyber drills and data-sharing agreements. Allies are sick of being the unwitting testbed for Chinese hackers and are now collectively mapping supply chain risks and shoring up defenses on everything from semiconductors to water grids.

Emerging tech on the defensive side is all about zero-trust architecture and quantum-resistant encryption. And as much as you hear about golden domes, America’s “Homeland Defense” initiatives are focusing on real-time anomaly detection in critical sectors while China is busy hyping its own global air defense data grids. Sounds fancy, but let’s keep our eyes on the code—not the PR.

That’s all for this week’s CyberPulse. Thanks for tuning in—Ting hopes you’re as plugged in for next time. Don’t forget to subscribe! This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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