China-linked hackers backdoored executives' laptops via USB, exploiting a fix companies had but weren't using

A Chinese state-linked hacking group compromised executive laptops at an agricultural industry conference on Hainan Island this spring — not through phishing or a network breach, but by breaking into hotel rooms and booting the machines from a USB stick while the executives were at dinner. CrowdStrike, which tracks the group as OVERCAST PANDA , disclosed the campaign in its 2026 Threat Hunting Report and detailed the operation’s timeline in an interview with VentureBeat at Fal.Con 2026: an intruder entered one room at around 8 p.m. local time and a second room by 9:57 p.m., writing a backdoor