Mei Danowski
Simulation Meets Reality: How China’s Cyber Ranges Fuel Cyber Operations
Between late 2024 and early 2025, the United States government issued indictments or sanctions against three Chinese information security firms — i-SOON, Sichuan Silence, and Integrity Tech — alleging their support for or links to malicious cyber groups targeting US government and critical infrastructure systems. Our research found that all three companies serve as a key seedbed for nurturing China’s offensive cyber talent with cyber range services, which train cybersecurity professionals through “attack-defense live-fire” (攻防实战) exercises. Alongside hacking contests and crowdsourced bug bounty programs, attack-defense live-fire exercises are one of the primary mechanisms leveraged by the Chinese government to enhance its cyber capabilities, with support from a rapidly growing private cybersecurity industry with more than 4000 products and services providers.
This presentation focuses on the development of attack-defense exercises and commercial cyber ranges in China, areas that have received relatively little attention to date. It examines how this ecosystem is shaping China’s offensive cyber capabilities. The presentation is based on an upcoming research report that draws on Chinese-language sources – including company directories, public business data, job postings, university websites, and interviews in obscure publications – to map China’s cybersecurity industry. The presentation will discuss 120 companies identified as providers of attack-defense exercises and cyber range services, and profiles key companies among them to assess their role in supporting state-linked cyber operations.
Mei Danowski is co-founder and principal of Natto Thoughts, a provider of cyber threat intelligence research and analysis with a specialization in geopolitical, economic, social, cultural, and linguistic perspectives. Mei’s research areas include strategic threat intelligence and East Asian political, military, economic, and strategic affairs. Prior to founding Natto Thoughts, she supported various U.S. government organizations and held key positions in the private sector at Microsoft, Accenture, and Verisign.
