This is your US-China CyberPulse: Defense Updates podcast.

Hey listeners, Ting here, your go-to cyber sleuth on all things China hacks and US shields. Buckle up, because the past week in US-China CyberPulse has been a non-stop ping-pong match of defenses ramping up against Beijing’s digital jabs—today’s January 7, 2026, and the hits just keep coming.

Picture this: I’m hunkered down in my digital war room, screens flickering with alerts from Taiwan’s National Security Bureau report dropped January 4. China’s cyber goons cranked up attacks on Taiwan’s power grids, hospitals, and telecoms by 6 percent last year, with groups like Flax Typhoon and APT41 tag-teaming industrial control systems and swiping health data for the dark web. Average daily intrusions? A whopping 2.63 million in 2025, per BankInfoSecurity. They’re prepping cyber-enabled economic warfare to flip Taiwan’s lights out without firing a shot, syncing hacks with those massive military drills around the island. Jack Burnham at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies nailed it—Beijing’s blending AI-generated psyops videos with real probes into TSMC’s chip secrets.

But the US isn’t sleeping. Treasury’s outbound investment rules, live since early 2025 via Baker Donelson’s forecast, now slam the brakes on US cash flowing to Chinese AI outfits eyeing military or surveillance tech. Venture capitalists at firms like a16z are vetting portfolios like hawks. Fast-forward to December’s frenzy: President Trump inked the “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence” executive order, tasking DOJ, Commerce, FCC, and FTC to smack down “onerous” state AI laws that hobble our edge over China. David Sacks, Trump’s AI guru, says it’s all about dominance—no messing with kid-safety rules, though. Congress hustled the 2026 NDAA through, forcing intel agencies to test AI models like ChatGPT for safety and bias, while dodging “woke AI” mandates.

Private sector’s jumping in too—Trump’s Genesis Mission ropes in Nvidia, AMD, and Dell with DOE labs for supercomputing to train beast-mode AI, coordinated by Michael Kratsios. States and locals are automating Zero Trust and cert lifecycles, per Sectigo, amid Ohio encryption pushes and New York breach deadlines. Internationally, FDD urges Washington to beef Taiwan’s grids with advisors, convoy drills, and offensive cyber chops, looping in Australia for that resilience boost.

Meanwhile, China’s Premier Li Qiang kicked 2026 touring Guangdong’s Shenzhen-Hong Kong Sci-tech Zone and BYD Robot Valley January 3 to 5, preaching tech innovation. But their Cyberspace Administration of China dropped a curveball December 29: all firms handling kids’ data under 14 must audit and report to CAC by January 31—privacy notices, age checks, the works—or face PIPL fines.

Witty wrap: China’s swinging hard, but US strategies are evolving faster than a quantum decrypt. New AI guardrails, investment bans, and Taiwan teamwork? That’s our pulse strengthening.

Thanks for tuning in, listeners—subscribe for more cyber spice! This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI