2 Men Linked to China’s Salt Typhoon Hacker Group Likely Trained in a Cisco ‘Academy’

The names of two partial owners of firms linked to the Salt Typhoon hacker group also appeared in records for a Cisco training program—years before the group targeted Cisco’s devices in a spy campaign.

Cisco’s Networking Academy, a global training program designed to educate IT students in the basics of IT networks and cybersecurity, proudly touts its accessibility to participants around the world: “We believe education can be the ultimate equalizer, enabling anyone, regardless of background, to develop expertise and shape their destiny in a digital era,” reads the first line on its website.

That laudable statement, however, reads a bit differently when the “destiny” of those students appears to be owning a majority stake in companies linked to one of the most successful Chinese state-sponsored hacking operations ever to target the West—and many of Cisco's own products.

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