SPYCRAFT 101 268. China's Cyber Spies: The Cyber Espionage Frontier with Dr. Ahana Datta Fasel
Oct 5, 2026
Dr. Ahana Datta Fasel, cybersecurity researcher, author, and former Financial Times cyber chief, explores China’s cyber statecraft. They unpack the “full stack spy” concept, Operation Triangulation, commercial spyware and zero-click exploits. The conversation examines China’s persistent hacking infrastructure, Salt Typhoon, the limits of cyber indictments, Taiwan escalation risks, and how AI could make cyber conflict more widespread.
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Operation Triangulation Mixed Sophistication With Sloppiness
- Operation Triangulation chained four valuable iPhone vulnerabilities to spy on researchers, diplomats, and Russian energy and transport departments for years.
- Kaspersky researchers found the operation’s deployment and data exfiltration surprisingly sloppy despite its expensive technical capabilities.
Cyber Operations Can Split Creation And Deployment
- Triangulation likely involved separate public and private actors, with malware creators and operators showing radically different technical skill and risk tolerance.
- A contractor’s attempt to sell malware components to Russia later supported the hypothesis that the capability and its deployment came from different parties.
Spyware Licensing Made Surveillance Scalable
- Commercial spyware evolved from selling Pegasus outright to licensing it with maintenance, infrastructure, storage, and exfiltration services.
- Licensing expanded access to sophisticated surveillance, while regulation struggled to control how those capabilities proliferated internationally.
