These operations are not ordinary espionage. The data taken from a foreign police network is being used to find critics, then support harassment and pressure outside China, so the breach matters as a targeting tool, not just a theft of sensitive records.
Italian investigators said the February 2026 DIGOS breach involved China-linked hackers stealing personnel data on about 5,000 officers from the unit that monitors extremist threats and protects sensitive foreign communities. The report ties that theft to a broader ecosystem of private contractors and to a pattern already documented against Uyghurs, Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners, Hong Kong activists, journalists, and other critics abroad.
The shift is bigger than one incident. It shows cyber access being folded into transnational repression, where stolen records can help locate people, map their networks, and extend offline intimidation across borders.