China — The country has intensified its cyber‑espionage operations through highly sophisticated state‑sponsored groups such as Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon, which have infiltrated telecommunications networks and critical infrastructure in the United States. These campaigns, detected in 2026, aim to gather strategic data and secure long‑term geopolitical advantages.
Salt Typhoon managed to compromise telecommunications metadata and the communications of political figures, while Volt Typhoon focused on preparing potential disruptions to essential infrastructure in the event of a conflict. These operations reveal a Chinese strategy based on prolonged infiltration and the systematic collection of sensitive information.
These campaigns have raised alarms among Western security agencies, which view these attacks as a direct threat to national stability. They also expose the growing sophistication of state‑sponsored actors in a context of global technological rivalry, where digital espionage has become a central component of strategic competition between major powers.
The increase in these operations has prompted urgent reviews of cybersecurity policies, international cooperation, and the protection of critical infrastructure. For many experts, 2026 marks a turning point in global cyber‑geopolitics.
