Researcher claims Salt Typhoon spies attended Cisco training scheme www.theregister.com/2025/12/1…
A security researcher specializing in tracking China threats claims two of Salt Typhoon’s members were former attendees of a training scheme run by Cisco. The initiative is still going today. It typically runs for a few months and is geared toward beginners learning foundational cybersecurity skills, which are then tested in competitions like capture the flag events.
Digging into their pasts, Cary found that Yu and Qiu represented Southwest Petroleum University in Cisco’s academy cup in China. Yu’s team placed second in the Sichuan region, while Qiu’s team won it and later placed third nationally, despite the university not carrying a significant pedigree in academic excellence.
