Once considered mainly an economic thief in cyberspace, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is now seen by the U.S. military as its top cyberthreat and “pacing adversary,” capable of not only espionage, but also potential sabotage of lifeline systems.

More than a dozen cybersecurity annual reviews and 2025 trend reports sound the alarm on the regime’s increasingly sophisticated cybercapabilities, with one even crowning 2024 as the “inflection point” in Chinese cyberespionage.