Chinese, US cyber capabilities reportedly on par

Offensive cybersecurity capabilities wielded by China were noted by the Netherlands' Defence Intelligence and Security Service, or MIVD, to be on parity with the U.S., reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

China's improved cyber operations are due to Beijing's replacement of its Strategic Support force with a dedicated Cyberspace Force two years ago, which allowed continuous tooling refinements beginning in 2025, noted the MIVD in its public annual report.

"Detection, response and mitigation are often inadequate against the extensive and professional Chinese cyber threat," said the MIVD, which noted Chinese state-backed attacks against Dutch businesses, universities, and individuals.

Such a report comes after China was reported by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence to have leveraged "formidable cyber capabilities" to successfully compromise the U.S.'s critical infrastructure. A recent Google Threat Intelligence Group report also noted the twofold increase in zero-day exploitation among China-nexus threat operations last year.