Threat Intelligence American citizen pleads guilty to spying for China June 8, 2026 Share By SC Staff (Adobe Stock) An American citizen has pleaded guilty to spying for China and acting as a paid middleman for collecting sensitive U.S. information. Thomas Pauken faces up to 10 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for September 1, 2026, as reported by Tech Radar. Thomas Weir Pauken II, 50, admitted to conspiring with multiple individuals to exfiltrate data for the Chinese government. Court documents revealed that in 2017, Pauken met with an operative identified as "Cathy," who provided him with hardware and instructions to gather specific information. He received at least $100,000 and travel expenses for these activities. Pauken also worked with others, believing they were Chinese intelligence handlers, and sold reports to individuals in Wuhan interested in U.S. technology and the Department of Justice. The FBI stated that Pauken attempted to infiltrate U.S. political circles and gather intelligence for China's Ministry of State Security. Source: Tech Radar SC Staff Related Threat Intelligence Former IBM executive sues, alleging cover-up of foreign government hacks SC Staff June 8, 2026 The lawsuit was filed by William Barlow, IBM's former vice president of threat intelligence. Threat Intelligence Pro-Russian hacker group launches ‘Patriotic Online Games’ campaign targeting European organizations SC Staff June 5, 2026 The group is leveraging Telegram to enlist "patriotic volunteers," offering cryptocurrency rewards for participating in various cyber activities, including DDoS attacks, information gathering, and ransomware operations. Threat Intelligence New China-linked threat cluster OP-512 targets Microsoft IIS servers SC Staff June 5, 2026 OP-512 deploys a custom web shell framework consisting of three distinct web shells, designed to provide attackers with remote access while evading detection. Related Events Cybercast Better Threat Intelligence Between Public and Private Sectors On-Demand Event Virtual Conference Nationwide Cybersecurity Summit 2025: Safeguarding America’s Digital Future On-Demand Event Virtual Conference Securing the Future of Finance: Strategies to Counter Modern Cyber Threats On-Demand Event Get daily email updates SC Media's daily must-read of the most current and pressing daily news Business Email By clicking the Subscribe button below, you agree to SC Media Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Subscribe Related Terms Account Harvesting Corruption Deauthentication Attack Defacement Dictionary Attack Distributed Scans Domain Hijacking Fault Line Attacks Google Hacking Password Cracking You can skip this ad in 5 seconds