Cyberattack on China’s National Supercomputing Center Raises National Security Concerns A suspected cyberattack on China’s National Supercomputing Center (NSCC) in Tianjin has sparked alarm over the potential exposure of sensitive research data tied to aerospace, defense, and scientific programs. According to reports on hacker forums, an individual operating under the alias “Flaming China” claimed to have infiltrated the facility’s systems and exfiltrated over 10 petabytes (PB) of data equivalent to roughly 10 million gigabytes. The alleged stolen dataset includes research on aerospace engineering, military technology, bioinformatics, and nuclear fusion simulations, with files reportedly sourced from leading institutions such as the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), and Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU). Some materials were marked with 10-year confidentiality labels, while others appeared to involve military damage simulations targeting armored systems, including HIMARS rocket launchers and aircraft carriers. The hacker advertised the data for sale online, offering a full file index for 10 Monero (XMR) approximately $3,700 with the highest bidder gaining access to the entire dataset. Cybersecurity analysts noted that if verified, the breach could enable reverse engineering of Chinese research, exposing technical methodologies and undermining competitive advantages in critical sectors. The Tianjin NSCC is a strategic hub for China’s scientific and defense research, hosting advanced computing infrastructure used by over 1,600 institutions across 30 provinces. The facility previously operated Tianhe-1, once the world’s fastest supercomputer, and remains integral to state-backed simulations and engineering projects. Experts warned that the breach may indicate weak internal security segmentation, allowing attackers to move laterally across systems once initial access was gained. Despite the severity of the allegations, Chinese authorities and the NSCC have not publicly confirmed or denied the incident. The lack of official response mirrors previous high-profile breaches, including the 2022 Shanghai police data leak (affecting nearly 1 billion citizens) and the 2025 WeChat Pay/Alipay financial records exposure (over 4 billion records). Online discussions have questioned the hacker’s claims, particularly the low asking price for such a vast dataset, while others criticized weak governance and internal vulnerabilities as potential contributing factors. The incident underscores growing concerns over the security of China’s critical research infrastructure and the potential fallout from large-scale data exfiltration in sensitive sectors.