Chinese cybersecurity firm 360 Security Technology, also known as Qihoo 360, has claimed that its recent U.S. sanctions are linked to its role in revealing spying operations by the CIA and NSA targeting China. 

At the firm's Internet Security and AI Conference on Wednesday, SCMP shared that founder and chairman Zhou Hongyi found that these covert U.S. program had been active for over a decade. 

Zhou emphasized that the sanctions, which were first implemented by the U.S. Commerce Department in 2020, were a result of the company's findings and its perceived threat to U.S. interests. 

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Qihoo 360 Discovered Spying Activities From US

Qihoo 360, which was listed on the New York Stock Exchange until 2016, was accused by the U.S. of aiding Chinese surveillance on the Uygur population and of having ties with the Chinese military. The company's role in exposing these hacking programs was also noted as a primary reason for the sanctions.

Zhou also defended Qihoo 360 against sanctions by stating its valuable role in strengthening China's cybersecurity and claimed its products surpass foreign competitors. He noted that interactions with the company's pop-up ads help support national security. 

VCPost earlier remarked that both US and China are playing catch up in tech industry, just after US sanctions were imposted. To counter US in AI, Zhou discussed the company's new ventures into artificial intelligence, including a plan to make its security-specific AI model free for users amidst a competitive pricing war in the AI sector.

In addition to Qihoo 360's AI technology, the company has also been releasing various large language models (LLMs), including the general-purpose 360 Zhinao model. Zhou acknowledged that while AI introduces new cybersecurity challenges, advanced AI tools can also be key to address these emerging threats.

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