Chinese-Linked Hackers Breach Top Political US Law Firm

Williams & Connolly Hit in Zero-Day Campaign Impacting Client Emails Chris Riotta (@chrisriotta) • October 9, 2025

A prominent U.S. law firm alerted clients that attorney email accounts were compromised in a zero-day attack likely tied to an ongoing Chinese-linked hacking campaign targeting law firms and technology companies.

See Also: When Identity Protection Fails: Rethinking Resilience for a Modern Threat Landscape

Williams and Connolly, known for representing major media outlets in First Amendment cases and high-profile politicians including Bill and Hillary Clinton, reportedly told clients that "a small number" of attorney accounts were recently accessed. The firm said no confidential client data was taken and "there is now no evidence of any unauthorized traffic on our network."

Mounting evidence connects Beijing to several hacking operations aimed at U.S. law firms, with Google's threat intelligence unit Mandiant stating in a September report that it was responding ...