China-linked group TA419 phishes AI policy experts

Proofpoint found that the China-related threat group TA419 impersonated U.S. policymakers in July and launched adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) phishing attacks against AI experts at think tanks, universities, and law firms, stealing cloud account credentials and sessions. The attackers first built trust under the name of a fictitious "AI Policy Advisory Council" or a Senate Foreign Relations Committee report on AI export controls, then sent short links that, after multi-level redirects, led to a forged OneDrive AiTM phishing page customized from the open-source Frameless BitB tool. Proofpoint said the group has been continuously targeting U.S. and Japanese institutions since at least April 2025, and in February also impersonated an Anthropic employee targeting an AI policy expert at a think tank.

Proofpoint disclosed that China-linked espionage group TA419 has been conducting credential phishing attacks targeting AI policy experts at US think tanks, universities, and law firms since at least April 2025. In February 2026, it impersonated an Anthropic employee, targeting a US think tank AI policy expert with the email subject "Seeking input on Claude military integration." The attack first built trust with harmless invitations, then used multi-hop redirects through short links, Cloudflare Turnstile verification, and finally an AitM phishing page on OneDrive that used Frameless BitB technology to forge a login window. TA419 also added custom telemetry and automation modules to open-source tools, tracking targets' Microsoft login processes and stealing credentials, while silently forwarding to real Microsoft infrastructure, leaving victims unaware.

Proofpoint found that the China-linked espionage group tracked as TA419 launched multiple rounds of credential phishing campaigns in July 2026, impersonating former leadership members of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and other identities, targeting U.S. AI policy experts. Starting July 8, 2026, the group impersonated Lynne Edwards Parker, former Principal Deputy Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and economist Heidi Crebo-Rediker; in February 2026 it also impersonated a senior Anthropic employee, sending emails with the subject "Request for Feedback on Military Integration of Claude" to AI policy analysts at U.S. think tanks. Proofpoint assessed that the activity may serve the broader goals of Chinese intelligence agencies, namely understanding U.S. AI policy and regulatory developments.