A China-aligned hacking group, TA419, posed as prominent U.S. artificial-intelligence experts to target policy professionals in a credential-theft campaign, according to security firm Proofpoint. Beginning in April 2025 and peaking in July, the group sent benign-looking emails—such as invitations to join an “AI Policy Advisory Committee”—to think tanks, defense contractors, universities and law firms in the U.S. and Japan. Victims who engaged were routed to spoofed sign-in prompts using “browser-in-the-browser” windows designed to steal login credentials. The impostors included Lynne Edwards Parker, a former principal deputy director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Reuters confirmed one target, Alex Engler, who leads the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy. Proofpoint said TA419 previously impersonated a “prominent” Anthropic employee to reach AI policy circles and is likely to continue targeting policy institutions and experts. The firm did not name compromised organizations.
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