Anthropic Disrupts Russian Cyber Espionage and Chinese AI Model Theft
AI firm reports thwarting state-linked hacking and efforts by Chinese companies to replicate its Claude models.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Anthropic Disrupts Russian Cyber Espionage and Chinese AI Model Theft
Photograph: CNBC (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Anthropic reported disrupting a suspected Russian cyber-espionage campaign linked to the SVR, which targeted Ukrainian organisations.
- Seven China-based AI labs, including Alibaba, Moonshot, DeepSeek, and Xiaomi, are accused of attempting to extract capabilities from Claude.
- Alibaba allegedly used over 151 million exchanges with Claude between May and July 2026, employing more than 3,500 fraudulent accounts.
- Moonshot and DeepSeek are accused of routing live customer conversations through Claude to use the responses as training data.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 22 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 37 of the 59 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
65/100
Hype
45/100
59 sources · methodology
Anthropic has disrupted several attempts to misuse its Claude AI models. The company reported thwarting a suspected Russia-linked cyber-espionage campaign and efforts by Chinese AI firms to extract and replicate Claude's capabilities. These actions were detailed in Anthropic's latest Threat Intelligence report.
The Russia-linked campaign was associated with Midnight Blizzard, a threat actor previously linked by the US government to the SVR, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service. This group allegedly targeted Ukrainian government, military, and diplomatic organisations. Anthropic stated that AI was used across several stages of these operations, including phishing and malware evasion.
Disagreement on specific numbers of exchanges
Reports differ on the exact number of exchanges attributed to specific Chinese AI labs. Anthropic stated that Alibaba's alleged campaign involved over 151 million exchanges with Claude between May and July 2026, using more than 3,500 fraudulent accounts, as reported by EM360 and Quartz. However, the-decoder.de reported that Alibaba's Qwen team alone had more than 151 million exchanges. Business Insider reported that China's star AI labs routed user requests to Claude at least 35 million times in the summer, while hngn.com stated that seven Chinese AI labs ran nearly 200 million exchanges to extract Claude's capabilities. Cryptopolitan reported that accounts linked to Alibaba ran more than 151 million exchanges with Claude to train its Qwen models, calling it the largest distillation campaign documented.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated, centre-rated, or right-rated reports below mention Anthropic's claim that it disrupted activity associated with affiliates of the ShinyHunters cybercrime collective. Additionally, none of the reports mention Anthropic's claim that it disrupted activity involving operators using the model to develop software associated with conventional weapons, including firearms, missiles, armed drones, and other munitions, or additional activity involving weapons design, intelligence gathering, and procurement linked to programmes in China, Russia, and Yemen.
Coverage settled. We checked this 299 times and stopped on 16 Sept 2026, 17:15. The figures above are what it finished at.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
8 rated outlets
- CNBC and TechCrunch reported that Chinese AI labs including Alibaba and Moonshot were involved in unauthorized "distillation" of Anthropic's Claude models. This process involved extracting capabilities from Claude to train other AI models. Alibaba's campaign alone involved over 151 million exchanges with Claude between May and July.
- CNBC reported that some exchanges included sensitive user information, potentially violating privacy laws. Moonshot AI allegedly routed customer requests intended for its Kimi model to Claude, then used the responses to train its own models. DeepSeek was also named in relation to similar activity.
- Quartz, the South China Morning Post, and IBTimes also reported on the accusations. IBTimes stated that Alibaba was linked to over 151 million exchanges and DeepSeek to another 12.1 million, as Chinese labs sought advanced reasoning capabilities.
Centre
6 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports detailed Anthropic's accusations against Chinese AI labs for illicit distillation. Quartz reported that Alibaba's campaign alone involved over 151 million exchanges with Claude between May and July. South China Morning Post stated that Anthropic claims Moonshot and DeepSeek secretly diverted user requests to Claude. Reuters reported that Anthropic disrupted bioweapons research efforts, Russian hacking, and Chinese Claude misuse. TechCrunch detailed distillation campaigns from Alibaba, Moonshot AI, and DeepSeek, noting that competition in the space has intensified. Bloomberg reported that Moonshot secretly routed user requests through Claude. Memeburn noted Anthropic's distillation battle has spread into an illicit market of fake accounts, proxies, and stolen credentials.
Right
8 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports highlighted Anthropic's disruption of Russian and Chinese AI campaigns. Times of India reported that Anthropic disrupts Russian, Chinese AI campaigns targeting its Claude models, revealing disruption of cyber espionage campaigns linked to Russia and Chinese firms exploiting its Claude AI models. CNBC-TV18 stated that China's Alibaba ran the largest AI 'brain-theft' operation ever recorded, extracting over 151 million Claude exchanges to help train Qwen models. Yonhap News Agency reported on Anthropic's 'Distillation' report, stating that Moonshots and others replicated capabilities through 'transfer stations' using fake accounts.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Anthropic Disrupts Russian Cyber Espionage and Chinese AI Model Theft?
- Of the 22 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 18% are rated left, 50% are rated centre, 32% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 59. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Anthropic Disrupts Russian Cyber Espionage and Chinese AI Model Theft left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 22 rated outlets on this story, 18% are rated left, 50% are rated centre, 32% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of Anthropic Disrupts Russian Cyber Espionage and Chinese AI Model Theft biased?
- Anthropic Disrupts Russian Cyber Espionage and Chinese AI Model Theft is one event reported by 59 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Anthropic Disrupts Russian Cyber Espionage and Chinese AI Model Theft?
- 59 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What is AI model distillation?
- AI model distillation is a process where the outputs from a more capable AI model are used to train another, often smaller, model. This allows the smaller model to mimic some of the capabilities of the larger one without needing to develop them independently.
- Which Chinese AI labs are accused of model distillation?
- Anthropic has accused seven China-based AI labs of attempting to extract capabilities from Claude. Among those named are Alibaba, Moonshot, DeepSeek, and Xiaomi. These companies allegedly used Claude's outputs to train and improve their own AI models.
- What was the scale of Alibaba's alleged activity?
- Anthropic claims that Alibaba's alleged campaign involved over 151 million exchanges with Claude between May and July 2026. This activity reportedly used more than 3,500 fraudulent accounts and peaked at nearly three million exchanges per day.
- What other misuse of AI models did Anthropic report?
- Anthropic also reported disrupting a suspected Russia-linked cyber-espionage campaign targeting Ukrainian organisations. The company stated that AI was used across various stages of these operations, including phishing and malware evasion.
Read it at the source
60 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
8- DeepSeek And Alibaba Are Closing The AI Gap. Anthropic Accuses them Of Using Claude To Help Train Their Models. (opens IBTimes in a new tab)
- Anthropic accuses Chinese AI labs of illicit distillation attacks (opens Quartz in a new tab)
- Antropic “Alibaba Approached Claude 151 Million Times”… China’s ‘Malicious Distillation’ Case Revealed (opens Unknown in a new tab)
Unknown
- Anthropic disrupts bioweapons research efforts, Russian hacking, Chinese Claude misuse (opens Al-Monitor in a new tab)
Al-Monitor — is Al-Monitor biased? Our profile of this outlet
- China's star AI labs routed user requests to Claude at least 35 million times in the summer: Anthropic (opens Business Insider in a new tab)
Business Insider — is Business Insider biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chinese AI labs secretly used millions of Claude exchanges to train their models, Anthropic says (opens CNBC in a new tab)
- Anthropic claims Moonshot, DeepSeek secretly diverted user requests to Claude (opens South China Morning Post in a new tab)
South China Morning Post — is South China Morning Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic details distillation campaigns from Alibaba, Moonshot AI, and DeepSeek (opens TechCrunch in a new tab)
TechCrunch — is TechCrunch biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
6- Anthropic Disrupts Russian, Chinese Campaigns Targeting Claude AI (opens EM360 in a new tab)
- Künstliche Intelligentz: Anthropic Wirft Chinesichen KI-Rivalen Schummelei Vor (opens INTELLINEWS in a new tab)
INTELLINEWS — is INTELLINEWS biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic Names Alibaba, DeepSeek in AI Distillation Report (opens hngn.com in a new tab)
- Anthropic disrupts bioweapons research efforts, Russian hacking, Chinese Claude misuse (opens Reuters in a new tab)
- Moonshot Secretly Routed User Requests Through Claude, Anthropic Says (opens Bloomberg in a new tab)
- Anthropic’s Distillation Battle Moves To The Dark Web As China Fears Grow (opens Memeburn in a new tab)
Right
8- Anthropic Accuses Chinese AI Labs of 190M Distillation Attacks on Claude (opens Modern Diplomacy in a new tab)
Modern Diplomacy — is Modern Diplomacy biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic caught Chinese AI labs carrying out massive ‘distillation attack’ to rip off its technology (opens New York Post in a new tab)
New York Post — is New York Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic Says Russian, Chinese Threat Actors Used Its AI Model Claude For Malicious Activity (opens Zero Hedge in a new tab)
Zero Hedge — is Zero Hedge biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic disrupts Russian, Chinese AI campaigns targeting its Claude models (opens Times of India in a new tab)
Times of India — is Times of India biased? Our profile of this outlet
- China's Alibaba ran the largest AI ‘brain-theft’ operation ever recorded: Anthropic report (opens CNBC-TV18 in a new tab)
- Antropic: “China’s Moonshot AI Bypassed Claude Access with Thousands of Fake Accounts… Unauthorized Distillation Detected” (opens Unknown in a new tab)
Unknown
- Antropic 'Distillation' Report... "Moonshots and Others Replicated Through 'Transfer Stations'" (opens 연합뉴스-Yonhap News Agency in a new tab)
연합뉴스-Yonhap News Agency — is 연합뉴스-Yonhap News Agency biased? Our profile of this outlet
- How Chinese AI Firms Tried to Clone U.S. AI Models (opens Wall Street Journal in a new tab)
Wall Street Journal — is Wall Street Journal biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
38- Anthropic Accuses Chinese AI Labs of 190M Distillation Attacks on Claude (opens Stéphane Larue in a new tab)
Stéphane Larue — is Stéphane Larue biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic Accuses Chinese AI Labs of 190M Distillation Attacks on Claude (opens Tekedia in a new tab)
- China rejects Anthropic allegations of using Claude to train their models - THE LOCAL REPORT ARTICLES (opens Thelocalreport.in in a new tab)
Thelocalreport.in — is Thelocalreport.in biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic Says Seven Chinese Labs Ran Claude Distillation Attacks (opens TechJuice in a new tab)
- Chain of Thought for Sale: Alibaba, Moonshot and DeepSeek Drained Claude to Train Qwen and Kimi (opens (in)sicurezza digitale in a new tab)
(in)sicurezza digitale — is (in)sicurezza digitale biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic Accuses Chinese AI Labs of 190M Distillation Attacks on Claude (opens newtalk.tw in a new tab)
newtalk.tw — is newtalk.tw biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic Accuses Chinese AI Companies of Using Claude to Train Models. (opens Thanh Niên in a new tab)
Thanh Niên — is Thanh Niên biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic’s 200M-Exchange Distillation Report Is the Evidence Behind the Joint US Intelligence Accusation (opens Forkast in a new tab)
Show 30 more
- Anthropic Says Seven China-Based AI Labs Ran Industrial-Scale Claude Distillation Attacks (opens IT Security News in a new tab)
IT Security News — is IT Security News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic Unveils Massive Distillation Campaigns by Chinese Actors (opens Fredzone in a new tab)
- Anthropic Accuses Chinese AI Labs of 190M Distillation Attacks on Claude (opens The Hacker News in a new tab)
The Hacker News — is The Hacker News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- IA: How Claude (Anthropic) Made "Distiller" by His Chinese Competitors (opens La Tribune in a new tab)
La Tribune — is La Tribune biased? Our profile of this outlet
- How hackers used Claude for missiles, drone swarms, and surveillance, while Chinese labs mined it for training data (opens The Decoder in a new tab)
The Decoder — is The Decoder biased? Our profile of this outlet
- AI Distillation: Anthropic Details How Alibaba, DeepSeek, and Moonshot Use Its Models (opens Portal Mix Vale in a new tab)
Portal Mix Vale — is Portal Mix Vale biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic Announces! Don't Trust Chinese AI Companies! (opens shiftdelete.net in a new tab)
shiftdelete.net — is shiftdelete.net biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Artificial Intelligence: Anthropic Accuses Chinese Competitors of Stealing His Models (opens L'Humanité in a new tab)
L'Humanité — is L'Humanité biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Rockets, Drone Swarms, Surveillance, Replacement for China Models: Anthropic Shows What Claude Is Being Abused For (opens the-decoder.de in a new tab)
the-decoder.de — is the-decoder.de biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic Denounces the Plundering of Claude by China and the Failure of Self-Regulation (opens economiematin.fr in a new tab)
economiematin.fr — is economiematin.fr biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic Unveils the "Distillation" Campaigns Conducted by Alibaba, Moonshot AI and DeepSeek, to Extract the Capabilities of AI Claude (opens Developpez.com in a new tab)
Developpez.com — is Developpez.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic found DeepSeek and Moonshot redirecting customer requests to Claude instead of their own models (opens Aroged in a new tab)
- Anthropic Accuses Chinese Rivals of Copying Claude's Capabilities (opens Noticias ao Minuto in a new tab)
Noticias ao Minuto — is Noticias ao Minuto biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic Cuts Off Seven Chinese AI Labs and a Russian Spy Crew - Technology Org (opens technology.org in a new tab)
technology.org
- Anthropic Reports: Kimi Used 5,380 Fake Accounts to Tap Claude (opens t3nMagazin in a new tab)
t3nMagazin — is t3nMagazin biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic report warns AI distillation boosts reasoning, poses security risks (opens Cryptocurrency News in a new tab)
Cryptocurrency News — is Cryptocurrency News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic report warns AI distillation boosts reasoning, poses security risks (opens Crypto Briefing in a new tab)
Crypto Briefing — is Crypto Briefing biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic Accuses Chinese AI Providers of Deception (opens it-daily.net in a new tab)
it-daily.net — is it-daily.net biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chinese AI labs secretly used millions of Claude exchanges to train their models (opens Los Angeles Weekly Times in a new tab)
Los Angeles Weekly Times — is Los Angeles Weekly Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic ties 151 million Claude queries to alleged Alibaba distillation (opens Cryptopolitan in a new tab)
Cryptopolitan — is Cryptopolitan biased? Our profile of this outlet
- How Chinese AI Companies Are Attempting to Clone American AI Models (opens unsafe.sh in a new tab)
- Anthropic Reports Chinese Labs Clone Claude Capabilities on Industrial Scale (opens PYMNTS.com in a new tab)
PYMNTS.com — is PYMNTS.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Did Claude Copy It Secretly?… Antropic Raises Allegations of Distillation by 7 Chinese AI Sites (opens ddaily.co.kr in a new tab)
ddaily.co.kr — is ddaily.co.kr biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Moonshot, DeepSeek secretly routed user requests to Claude, Anthropic claims (opens cybernoz.com in a new tab)
cybernoz.com — is cybernoz.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- China-Based Artificial Intelligence Companies Conducting Industrial-Scale Distillation Campaigns Against U.S. AI Companies (opens cisa.gov in a new tab)
- Countering misuse of AI: September 2026 / Anthropic (opens anthropic.com in a new tab)
anthropic.com — is anthropic.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anthropic details distillation campaigns from Alibaba, Moonshot AI, and DeepSeek (opens BizToc in a new tab)
- Anthropic Accuses Moonshot of Diverting Consultations From Claude to Train His Own AI (opens Perfil in a new tab)
- Chinese Companies Secretly Redirected User Requests to Claude (opens 1prime.ru in a new tab)
- Anthropic Accuses Moonshot AI of Diverting Thousands of Requests to Claude (opens DiarioBitcoin in a new tab)
DiarioBitcoin — is DiarioBitcoin biased? Our profile of this outlet
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
More in Business & Economy
All Business & Economy →Elsewhere on the site
Politics•3 min readChina's Communist Party Holds Key Plenum on Discipline
Conflict & Security•3 min readUkraine Intelligence: Russia Uses Foreign Tech for Missiles
Conflict & Security•3 min readDrones Attack Voronezh, Killing Two and Injuring 17
