China-backed "LapDogs" hackers hijacked hundreds of devices in an outlandish intel campaign aimed at US and Asian targets

• ShortLeash gives hackers root-level stealth and blends malicious activity into everyday network traffic
• LapDogs uses fake LAPD certificates to disguise malware, bypassing even the best endpoint protection systems
• The malware quietly hijacks routers and devices that often go unmonitored for months

A recently disclosed cyber espionage operation, dubbed LapDogs, has drawn scrutiny following revelations from SecurityScorecard’s Strike Team.

The operation, believed to be conducted by China-aligned threat actors, has quietly infiltrated over 1,000 devices across the United States, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

What makes this campaign distinctive is its use of hijacked SOHO routers and IoT hardware, transforming them into Operational Relay Boxes (ORBs) for sustained surveillance.

Stealth, persistence, and false identities

LapDogs is an ...