State Secrets for Sale: Inside China's Hack-for-Hire Ecosystem In the shadowy world of global cyber espionage, secrets are currency and recently, some of China’s most sensitive digital assets hit the open market. Two recent leaks, dubbed the VenusTech and Salt Typhoon dumps, have peeled back the curtain on a structured, state-affiliated hacking ecosystem operating within China. Posted to DarkForums, the successor to BreachForums, these leaks expose a rare look into the inner workings of the Chinese cyber industrial complex. The VenusTech Leak: Government-Backed Espionage-as-a-Service VenusTech, a Chinese cybersecurity firm with ties to government entities, had its internal documents leaked, revealing a chilling level of operational maturity. Among the documents: Spreadsheets of targeted countries and agencies, including intelligence objectives in Taiwan, South Korea, India, Croatia, and Thailand. Delivery schedules for stolen data for example, recurring...