By Sean Lyngaas, CNN News October 2, 2026

Suspected Chinese hackers impersonated an Anthropic employee and ex-US officials in an espionage campaign aimed at gaining insights into American AI developments, a US cybersecurity firm said Thursday.

The hackers targeted the email accounts of experts in AI export controls and the military applications of AI, among other topics, who work at US universities, think tanks and law firms, according to Silicon Valley-based Proofpoint, which discovered the activity.