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The President's Daily Brief
July 25th, 2025: Chinese Hackers Breach US Nuclear Weapons Agency & Zelensky Backs Down
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- [00:01]
Caitlin Becker
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- [00:30]
Mike Baker
Looking to diversify and protect your hard earned assets? Well, schedule a free consultation with Birch Gold Group. They're the precious metals specialists. Just text PDB to the number 989-898 and you'll receive a free no obligation information kit and you'll learn how to convert an existing IRA or a 401 into a gold IRA. Again, it's simple. Just text PDB to the number 989-898. Foreign It's Friday, the 25th of July. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. Coming up, Chinese hackers breach the US Nuclear Weapons Agency. Oh, that sounds good. Microsoft is sounding the alarm over a major cyber attack tied to Beijing. We'll have those details later in the show. Mass protests and European Union warnings force Zelenskyy's hand as the embattled Ukrainian president proposes a new anti corruption bill following a major political backlash. Plus, Voice of America is under fire. New claims say executives from the taxpayer funded media outlet met with Chinese officials to discuss softening their coverage of Beijing. And in today's Back of the Brief, Iran invites nuclear Watchdogs to talk, but not to Look Inspectors are welcome to visit Iran, but it's not an all access pass. There'll be no ogling the sites recently targeted and hit by the U.S. but first, today's PDB Spotlight. We'll begin with a look at China's unrelenting cyber attacks on US Infrastructure following an alarming report that the communist regime recently gained access to the agency responsible for maintaining America's nuclear stockpile. Earlier this week, Microsoft sounded the alarm on a significant breach by Chinese state sponsored hackers warning that they exploited security vulnerabilities in the company's SharePoint document sharing servers to infiltrate some 400 agencies, businesses and other groups, mostly in the U.S. but the most alarming intrusion involved the U.S. national Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the maintenance and modernization of the nation's stockpile of nuclear weapons. That's according To a report from the New York Post, the semi autonomous agency, which operates under the umbrella of the Department of Energy, also provides the Navy with nuclear reactors for submarines and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the US and overseas. Their servers were accessed by two Chinese hacking groups on 18 July that used the Microsoft vulnerability to spoof authentication credentials and execute malicious code remotely. I know you and I are both shocked that the Chinese Communist Party would engage in these types of shenanigans. Now it does appear that the breach was plugged before any real damage was done. At least so they think. Officials with the Department of Energy told Bloomberg that no sensitive or classified information was known to be stolen in the cyber attack and that all impacted systems have since been restored. Still, the fact that Chinese hackers were able to get so close to accessing America's nuclear secrets underscores the rapidly growing sophistication of the communist regime's cyber capabilities. As I noted, at the center of the breach are Microsoft's SharePoint document sharing servers, which are widely used in both the public and private sector to organize and distribute internal web content across an organization. Essentially an intranet, SharePoint is deeply integrated with Microsoft's ecosystem, including services like Office and Teams, OneDrive and Outlook. Microsoft said they've patched the vulnerabilities, but warn that hackers will likely continue to exploit the system in future attacks. Yeah, that's probably a safe bet. The Director of Security Intelligence at Trusted Sec, a group that has trained US military cyber protection teams, warned the Independent, this is a critical vulnerability with wide reaching implications. It enables unauthenticated remote code execution on SharePoint servers, which are a core part of enterprise infrastructure. It is already being actively exploited at scale, and it only took 72 hours from the time a proof of concept was demonstrated for attackers to begin mass exploitation campaigns. End quote. All right, hands up if anyone understands what that meant. In the wake of the breaches, which began on July 7, Microsoft has recommended that all organizations using their software install new security updates. Yeah, there's a good idea. Saying they have high confidence that those who don't will be targeted again by the hacking groups. Well, thank you, Captain Obvious. They added that the full extent of the breach and its consequences are still being investigated. Which is it security speak for we actually don't know just how bad this was? The representative for Trusted Sec explained to the Independent, quote, what makes it even more severe is the way it exposes cryptographic secrets, effectively allowing attackers to convert any authenticated SharePoint request into remote code execution. That's a dangerous capability to put into the hands of threat actors, end quote. Aside from the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Chinese hackers also breached the US Department of Education, Florida's Department of Revenue, and the Rhode Island General Assembly. Uh oh, not the Rhode Island General Assembly. Internationally, the hacking campaign has reportedly compromised more than 100 government servers across Europe and the Middle East. Microsoft identified the cyber actors as belonging to two Chinese based hacking collectives known as Linnan Typhoon and Violence Typhoon. What? What charming sounding names. Which both have deep ties to the Communist Chinese Party. Unsurprisingly, Chinese officials have said they are unaware of any hacking activities linked to the government. We have no idea how this could have happened, saying, quote, China opposes and fights hacking activities in accordance with the law, end quote. Of course they do. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry then lashed out naturally at the US over the incident saying quote, we oppose smears and attacks against China under the excuse of cybersecur security issues, end quote. We're outraged that you're outraged. But as our listeners will know, China's government backed hacking operations regularly target American infrastructure and the regime has even admitted to that activity in the past. Thanks to a Wall Street Journal report back in April, we learned that during a closed door meeting at a summit in Geneva last December, Chinese officials tacitly acknowledged pursuing a years long cyber campaign that's hacked into computer networks at US ports, water treatment plants, airports and other strategic, strategic targets. While they didn't directly state that their government was behind the hacks, the Chinese implied to high ranking US national security officials that the cyber campaign was a response to increasing US support for Taiwan and was meant to scare the US into backing off from involving itself in that situation. That campaign was spearheaded by a Chinese based hacking collective dubbed Volt typhoon, which since 2021 has been connected to numerous breaches at US naval ports, Internet service providers and utility. US officials continue to warn that Chinese based hacking groups are working overtime to steal American military secrets and undermine U.S. readiness. All right, coming up after the break, Zelensky caves to political pressure and Voice of America faces claims of cozying up to Beijing. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. I want to take just a few moments of your time to talk about your online security because that is critically important. Look, right now you may have noticed the headlines are chock full of stories about data breaches and also regulatory rollbacks. And frankly, all those things can make us more vulnerable. But here's the thing, there is something you can do about it. Let me tell you about a great business called Deleteme. 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- [09:29]
Piers Morgan
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- [09:57]
Mike Baker
Welcome back to the PDB Facing mass protests and European Union backlash, Ukrainian President Zelensky on Thursday made an abrupt about face, unveiling new anti corruption legislation less than two days after signing a law that critics say gutted the very institutions tasked with rooting out graft and corruption. As we previously discussed, Zelenskyy's initial move, a fast track measure rammed through Parliament on Tuesday, had its sweep oversight powers to Ukraine's prosecutor general over the National Anti Corruption Bureau and the specialized anti corruption Prosecutor's office. Once held up as flagships of postmaidan reform, both agencies would now, under that new legislation, fall under the thumb of Zelenskyy's political allies. Zelenskyy initially defended the bill as a necessary move to remove Russian influence and speed up corruption investigations, though he offered no specifics to support the Kremlin interference claim. Within hours of the bill's passage, though, thousands poured into the streets of Kyiv and other cities denouncing the move as a blatant power grab. Protesters chanted shame in the largest anti government demonstrations since Russia's full scale invasion back in early 2022. Brussels was also quick to weigh in. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marte Koss slammed the new law as a serious step back, warning it could jeopardize Ukraine's EU candidacy and threaten access to billions in foreign aid. That pressure appeared to land By Thursday, Zelensky reversed course, announcing that a replacement draft was already in the works, one that he claimed would guarantee the real strengthening of the law and order system in Ukraine. In posts across Telegram and X, Zelenskyy reiterated that the new proposal would preserve the independence of anti corruption agencies and reliable protection of the law enforcement system against any Russian influence. End quote. However, I'd like to point out that he stopped short of saying whether it would override or nullify the legislation that he signed just the other day. Nor did he release the full text of the new legislation, leaving critics and allies alike guessing at its substance. What's more, Zelenskyy's pivot raised eyebrows for its timing. Just one day earlier, he told anti corruption officials that they would have two weeks to submit recommendations before any new draft would be considered. That timeline has now been abandoned entirely, raising questions about who exactly shaped this new bill. The protests, meanwhile, haven't let up. Demonstrations continued into Thursday night. Now, at the same time, Russian forces intensified their push along Ukraine's eastern front, just as Kyiv faces mounting uncertainty over long term US Military aid and European capacity to fill that gap, all with little end to the war in sight. For Ukraine, the integrity of its anti corruption institutions isn't just a domestic issue, it's a strategic necessity. Credible reform is essential to the country's EU ambitions and to maintaining Western financial and military support, both of which hinge on trust in Ukrainian institutions. As of now, Zelensky seems to be in damage control mode. He wrote on X, it's important that we are preserving independence. It's important that we respect the position of all Ukrainians and, and are grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine. Now, whether that message will satisfy his fellow countrymen or if the protests continue, well, that remains to be seen. All right, turning to the US Senior Trump adviser Carrie Lake is sounding the alarm over what she calls a covert Chinese Communist Party influence campaign inside US Media. She accuses Voice of America or VOA executives of secretly collaborating with Beijing to shape taxpayer funded coverage that favors China and undermines America. In an interview with Just the News this week, Lake revealed that senior VOA managers held undisclosed meetings with CCP representatives in Washington, D.C. and on Chinese soil. She described it as part of a years long effort by foreign adversaries to subvert America's public broadcasting apparatus from within. Lake said, quote, we found out the CCP operating out of the embassy in Washington were meeting regularly with VOA management to tell them how they should be covering China. She added, quote, over the years it got more brazen for some background. Founded in 1942 to counter Axis propaganda during World War II, VOA then became a Cold War mainstay, beaming messages of American liberty into closed regimes across the globe as a beacon of US Soft power. But Lake says that mission has now been turned on its head. The meetings came to light during a months long internal probe with the U.S. agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA. Lake, who's overseeing the agency's dismantling under orders from President Trump, said the findings confirmed VOA leadership coordinated with CCP officials to steer coverage in a direction that was, in her view, pro China. She added that one VOA employee in the Mandarin language division went so far as to pledge loyalty to the CCP during one of their secret encounters. But the problem, Lake said, runs even deeper. The investigation also uncovered that the agency had quietly hired hundreds of foreign nationals through what's known as the J Cultural Exchange Visa program, some of whom, Lake said had direct ties to CCP controlled state media outlets. From 2009 to the end of the previous presidential administration, the agency sponsored more than 400 foreign nationals using the J1 visa program, nearly 100 of them from high risk countries. Lake told Just the news. This agency started hiring non Americans, brought them into our country to tell America's story, adding that we, the taxpayers, footed the bill. Now, the J1 program was originally intended as a temporary exchange opportunity, but it instead became a backdoor pipeline for foreign influence. And China wasn't the only concern. VOA's coverage of Russia, she said, also showed a disturbing tilt, what she described as largely pro Russian and anti American. Lake in her interview, said the J1 program would soon be terminated and the agency is undergoing a 85% reduction in staff in the near term. The goal, she made clear, is to eliminate the agency altogether. Lake argues that the agency has strayed far from its original mission. What was once designed as a spotlight of American values, she says, has now become a vehicle for foreign influence and authoritarian propaganda to the detriment of America. Okay, coming up next, in the back of the brief, Iran agrees to talk with UN Nuclear officials but won't allow access to its nuclear facilities. Some things never change. Stay with us. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now here's a little fact that you might have missed in your busy day July, when we're still in July is national grilling month, it's true. And Tritails Beef is here to help you celebrate it the American way. I mean, over a fire with real beef raised by real ranchers. Look, Tritails is a terrific business. It's a fifth generation family run ranch in Texas delivering pasture raised grain finished beef with zero shortcuts. I mean no middlemen. It couldn't be simpler. It's just great tasting beef delivered from their ranch straight to your door. Now right now you can get $10 off their 20 pound ground beef bundle plus two free flatiron steaks. All you gotta do is head to tribe.com PDB look, stock up and fill your freezer in celebration of National Grilling Month again go to tribe.com PDB today.
- [17:46]
Carrie Lake
I'm Piers Morgan, the host of the Piers Morgan Uncensored podcast. We do big interviews and we do big debates about whatever's getting people talking. We make news, we make noise, and we make a little bit of trouble too. Come and see what all the fuss is about. You can listen to Piers Morgan Uncensored on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [18:12]
Caitlin Becker
Hey, I'm Caitlin Becker, the host of the New York Post Cast and I've got exactly what you need to start your weekdays. Every morning I'll bring you the stories that matter, plus the news. People actually talk about the juicy details in the worlds of politics, business, pop culture and everything in between. It's what you want from the New York Post wrapped up in one snappy show. Ask your smart speaker to play the NYPostcast podcast, listen and subscribe on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [18:44]
Mike Baker
In today's Back of the Brief Iranian leaders have agreed to allow a technical team from the UN's nuclear watchdog to visit Tehran in the coming weeks. But there's one major catch. Inspectors won't be granted access to any of the Islamic regime's actual nuclear sites. The announcement was made by Iran's deputy foreign minister, who said the country wants to discuss a path forward on cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency following the recent US bombing campaign that struck the regime's three main nuclear facilities. After those strikes, Iran indefinitely suspended any further cooperation with the iaea, expelling inspectors and disabling any remaining on site surveillance systems used by the agency to monitor Iran's nuclear program. That's according to a report from Reuters. Iranian officials have not elaborated on what they plan to discuss with the watchdog or whether they are willing to reopen their damaged nuclear sites to inspections in the future. While on a trip to New York for meetings at the un, Iran's deputy foreign minister simply said the delegation will come to Iran to discuss the modality, not to go to the nuclear sites. Officials for the IAEA have not directly commented on the development, but issued a broader statement saying IAEA chief Rafael Grossi was actively engaging with all parties involved in the Iran nuclear issue. Well, that's nice. The UN Nuclear watchdog has previously said that it's essential that they be allowed to resume inspections inside Iran, particularly given the threat of the Islamic regime rebuilding their enrichment capabilities. As we've been tracking here on the pdb, international observers are particularly concerned about the status of Iran's existing stockpile of enriched uranium, which has been the subject obviously of much speculation since the US Strikes. An Israeli intelligence assessment from earlier this month said some uranium enriched to 60% purity, just below the 90% weapons grade threshold survived the strikes and remains intact inside hardened casks at the Isfahan facility. Israeli officials warned that the material could be recovered by Iranian engineers and used in a future push toward a nuclear weapon. During his New York trip, Iran's deputy foreign minister refused to comment on whether any of that stockpile survived the strikes. He told reporters, our atomic energy organization is assessing actually the damages to the nuclear installations and we are waiting to receive their report in this regard. It's very dangerous work. We do not know what has happened there because of the risks of the radiation. The deputy foreign minister will travel to Istanbul on Friday to meet with officials from Britain, France and Germany to discuss the future of Iran's nuclear program. The meetings come after an interview given on Monday by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi, who claimed to Fox News Bret Baer that the US Strikes left Iran's three nuclear facilities severely damaged. While he reiterated the regime's long standing claims that their nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes, he said that leaders in Tehran fully intend to rebuild the damaged sites and resume uranium enrichment in the future. He also stated that they fully intend to continue supporting and resourcing their various proxy groups, including Hezbollah and the Houthis. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily brief for Friday 25th July. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me me@pdbhefirsttv.com and of course, if it's Friday, which I believe it is, that means that a new episode of our extended weekend show, the PDB Situation Report hits the airwaves this evening at 10pm on the first TV. You can also catch it in past episodes on our much beloved YouTube channel. Is it beloved or beloved? Anyway, it's our YouTube channel residence, Daily Brief and of course on podcast platforms everywhere. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Message Naturates may apply or consult a doctor prior to use.
- [23:03]
Piers Morgan
Wow.
- [23:03]
Mike Baker
You look amazing.
- [23:04]
Caitlin Becker
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