Hackers targeted US,Canadian research facilities, Google says

A Chinese-linked hacking group spent more than a year secretly stealing data from U.S. and Canadian academic, medical and military research institutions, before being detected, Google said on Monday.

Between September 2023 and November 2025, the ‌hackers sought information related to defence intelligence, military strategy in the Indo-Pacific, artificial intelligence, unmanned vehicles, cyber warfare programs and medical research, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group said in a report.

Google did not name the targeted organizationsorganisations, but said their work covered a broad range of fields, from drug discovery and clinical trials to public health policy and military ⁠readiness, and that they collectively employ thousands of people with a combined research budget running into the billions of dollars.

Google has attributed the campaign to a hacking group it calls UNC6508, a relatively new and little-known cyber espionage player.

Luke McNamara, deputy chief analyst at Google Threat Intelligence Group, said the organisation's methods are broadly consistent with Chinese-linked hacking activity seen over many years, focused on gathering information likely to be of interest to the Chinese Government.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing ‌regularly denies ⁠carrying out or condoning illicit hacking activity.

 -Reuters