Pete Hegseth bets on agile defence tech, Knownsec leak unmasks China’s cyber arsenal, and our latest dispatch from Taipei
Issue 48: Pete Hegseth proclaims Pentagon's pivot toward startup defence procurement, a major leak reveals China's cyber arsenal, and how Taiwan could be exposed through 'innocent passage' tactics.
Good afternoon from the team at Resilience Media
Last Friday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addressed a room full of representatives spanning the breadth of the defence tech industry. His hour long speech hammered home one message: US defence procurement demands change and his Pentagon will be the one to do it. The room was filled with a who’s who from both defence contractors as well as the startup ecosystem. I chatted with people familiar with the speech, those in the room, others who have insight into this dramatic proclamation, and those who are set to benefit from it.
In short, this is welcome news for startups and the investors who love them. Signalling of the highest order, if you will.
Hegseth has surrounded himself with clever advisors who understand the business of defence: Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg, Emil Michaels, Mike Duffy, and Dan Driscoll are all steeped in public-private partnerships and understand the connection between defence and innovation. The acquisition strategy of the DoD is way more tech friendly today than ever before, a source told us, continuing “The question is how well and fast does the bureaucracy drink its medicine.”
What does this mean for Europe? In the wake of the speech, most industry experts and founders I spoke with weren’t full of positivity, telling me “Europe has a long way to go” and “Europe will fall behind in defence tech.” I’d like to know from you, does the DoD’s ambition to dramatically change its procurement processes impact you? Do you think European countries will follow suit? Tell me your thoughts.
It’s been an incredibly busy week in cybersecurity, which reporter Carly Page has been covering very closely. First, Iran-linked hackers claim Israeli defence breach and leak alleged Redback vehicle blueprints (read here). And second, a massive data leak from Chinese cybersecurity firm Knownsec has unveiled the tools, tactics, and datasets underpinning Beijing’s state-aligned hacking operations — which you can read in our Cybersecurity section further down.
We are also pleased to bring you our second Dispatch from Taipei, where contributor Paddy Stephens examines how small boats in the Taiwan Strait could be a national security crisis. You can find more below.
Elsewhere on Resilience Media:
With Incursions In the Air, Political Turmoil on the Ground, Lithuania Names a New Defence Minister
Immaterial raises £13.5 million to build more energy-efficient defence equipment
After Europe’s worst fire season, dual-use startups enlist to shore up climate resilience
Will you be in Helsinki for Slush or London for the UK-UA Defence Tech Forum? The Resilience Media team will be on the ground at both. If you’re going to be around, let us know.
I’ll be back in your inboxes next week, live from Helsinki.
-Leslie Hitchcock, co-founder and Publisher, Resilience Media
What if the first wave of a Chinese attack on Taiwan were led by not warships and landing barges, but small civilian vessels with troops on board?
Last year, a former Chinese naval officer drove a speedboat from China’s Fujian province to one of the ports in Taiwan’s Tamsui River, claiming to want to escape from China for democracy.
In May, a Chinese man – who claimed to have crossed from China in a dinghy – posted videos of a flag he had planted on a beach in northern Taiwan. And a month before that flag-planting (videos since removed; a report is here), a Chinese-crewed cruise ship registered in Bermuda sailed within 4 kilometres of Taiwan’s coastline.
These three cases are illustrative of a growing problem. Read on here.
A massive data breach at Chinese cybersecurity firm Knownsec has exposed the digital machinery behind Beijing’s global cyber espionage network, in what security experts are calling one of the most consequential leaks in the history of state-backed hacking.
More than 12,000 confidential documents, which were originally uploaded to GitHub before they were removed for violating the platform’s terms of service, have revealed the scope, sophistication, and international reach of China’s cyber operations, providing an unprecedented window into how its intelligence ecosystem functions.
Founded in 2007 and backed by tech giant Tencent, Knownsec has long operated at the nexus of China’s commercial cybersecurity sector and its state-directed intelligence apparatus. The company’s clients reportedly include government departments, financial institutions, and critical infrastructure operators, placing it squarely within Beijing’s digital command chain. That connection is now under renewed scrutiny following the leak, which has laid bare a sprawling cyber arsenal designed to infiltrate, monitor, and manipulate targets worldwide. Read more here.
Follow Resilience Media on LinkedIn and Bluesky to catch our latest news coverage in your feed. And don’t be shy; bring your voice to the discussion.
UK-UA Defence Tech Forum
Resilience Media is once more a Media Partner of the 4th UK-UA Defence Tech Forum, which is taking place on 18th November at RUSI in London with the official support of the Embassy of Ukraine in the UK.
The series of conferences was convened to enhance the collaboration between Ukrainian, British and international defence tech firms, together with the VC community, to scale up production and speed up R&D and new innovations. To date the series has attracted over 750 participants and registration has had to be closed well in advance of each event. Highlights include a pitch session featuring 15 hand-picked leading Ukrainian defence tech companies designed to create partnerships with international counterparts and to meet with leading VCs.
Resilience Media readers receive a 25% discount on the registration fee. When registering on the Forum webpage simply enter the code Resilience25. For any questions contact the organisers at: stephen.butler@strategy-council.com.