Microsoft's Messy Dance with China: Zero-Days, Spies, and Billions on the Line

This is your Digital Frontline: Daily China Cyber Intel podcast.

Fresh off the digital battlefront, it’s Ting here, your always-on radar for the latest on the China cyber scene. Let’s skip the pleasantries—because the past 24 hours have been a whirlwind of new intel, high-stakes exploits, and a few political aneurysms, courtesy of the usual suspects.

First up, big headlines around Microsoft. Roger Cressey, that ex-White House cyber guru and professional security Cassandra, is practically clutching a stress ball watching the latest Microsoft mess unfold. Microsoft just dropped news about a gnarly zero-day in SharePoint that Chinese hackers are all over, plus another fresh Exchange bug that, though not yet worming through networks, is already giving CISOs sleepless nights. Why does this matter? Cressey puts it bluntly: Chinese actors are so intimate with Microsoft’s ecosystem that these bugs are practically a welcome mat. He points out that with US critical infrastructure practically married to Microsoft, every procurement wave is popping the champagne in both Redmond and Beijing. Security still feels more like an afterthought than a requirement for the $4 trillion behemoth, and Chinese state-linked actors are reaping the benefits.

While we’re tallying threats, let’s talk about the SharePoint malware that got a full post-mortem from CISA. Their analysis reveals attackers—many traced back to China—are deploying stealthy, highly adaptive code inside US organizations via phishing and exploit kits. We’re not just talking old-school malware here; these payloads morph rapidly, bypassing a lot of standard endpoint defenses and digging deep into cloud services.

Meanwhile, the Google Cloud Threat Horizons Report is out, and red flags are everywhere. Attackers are laser-focused on cloud infrastructure, stepping up their game in credential theft, backup tampering, and sophisticated social engineering. The new trick? Hijacking session cookies to stroll right past that MFA you thought was bulletproof. And their preferred hideout? PDFs buried in legit storage, ready to slip past sleepy monitors.

On the policy side, the FAA and TSA just announced a push for new NIST-based cyber requirements for drone operators, with a not-so-subtle nod to concerns about Chinese drone tech—especially from DJI and Autel Robotics. The push is clear: if you're running unmanned systems, don’t just check the compliance box. Actively monitor, adapt, and close new risks faster than adversaries can open them. Because when it comes to supply chain and IoT-style attacks, Beijing is eyeing these platforms as tomorrow’s critical pressure points.

So, practical recommendations time, because I like my listeners both sharp and unbreached: get those Microsoft patches tested and rolled out ASAP, especially for SharePoint and Exchange. Rethink your cloud strategy—double down on identity security, and reinforce backup and disaster recovery with true isolation, not just a password. Be relentless about security awareness, especially around phishing and social engineering. And if you’re in the drone, logistics, or energy space, get serious about NIST-based frameworks and continuous threat monitoring.

That’s the latest stand on Digital Frontline: Daily China Cyber Intel. I’m Ting—thanks for tuning in, make sure you hit that subscribe button for your daily dose. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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