China’s DeepSeek: The AI Rebel That Rocked Wall Street and Then Got Hit by a Cyber Attack

January 28, 2025 | Cybersecurity
By Ashwani Mishra, Editor-Technology, 63SATS

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, a rising challenger to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, faced cyberattacks that disrupted its services, prompting the company to limit new signups temporarily.

Users reported degraded performance, which DeepSeek attributed to large-scale malicious attacks. The company issued a statement, temporarily limiting new signups but ensuring existing users are unaffected. While the company attributes the attacks to unknown sources, speculation mounts that rival tech giants or state-backed actors may be behind the coordinated effort to undermine DeepSeek’s momentum.

The timing couldn’t have been more dramatic. On January 27, DeepSeek’s innovative AI model sent shockwaves through global markets. Its low-cost yet powerful rival to U.S. giants like OpenAI fueled a tech frenzy, even climbing to the top of Apple’s App Store.

Meanwhile, Nvidia, a leader in AI chips, suffered a record-breaking $593 billion market loss as its stock plunged 17%—a reaction tied to DeepSeek’s disruptive potential amid U.S.-China tech competition.

This breakthrough emerged despite U.S. restrictions on Chinese access to advanced AI chips, underscoring DeepSeek’s ability to innovate under constraints.

Analysts were quick to point out that this development underscored China’s growing prowess in AI innovation, highlighting the geopolitical stakes in the global race for technological supremacy.

But what are the broader implications of DeepSeek’s ascent—not just for financial markets but for global cybersecurity, privacy, and governance.

The Rise of a Visionary

Liang Wenfeng’s path to start DeepSeek was as ambitious as it was strategic.

As the co-founder of High-Flyer, a hedge fund known for its pioneering use of AI in financial modeling, Wenfeng had already established himself as a force in the world of data-driven innovation.

DeepSeek Founder without logo 63 Sats Cybersecurity India

(Photo: Liang Wenfeng, founder of DeepSeek)

His close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) gave him an unparalleled advantage, granting him access to vast datasets and state-backed resources. While DeepSeek’s roots lie in innovation, its story is equally one of opportunism—an embodiment of Beijing’s broader technological aspirations.

Wenfeng’s rise was no accident; his ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and his alignment with its broader vision for technological leadership provided a strong. close His relationship with the CCP granted him access to vast datasets foundation. Underpinned by state-sponsored resources, Wenfeng moved from optimizing financial algorithms to tackling some of the most complex challenges in artificial intelligence. While DeepSeek’s origins are rooted in innovation, they are equally steeped in opportunism.

DeepSeek’s Strategic Foundation

Born from the CCP’s Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan, DeepSeek was created as more than just an AI platform; it was envisioned as a multipurpose tool to advance cyber-espionage, cyberwarfare, and geopolitical influence.

Its design prioritizes real-time decision-making across complex scenarios, ranging from military simulations to advanced cybersecurity operations. However, its true disruptive power lies in offensive capabilities: automating vulnerability detection, scanning millions of endpoints, and exploiting zero-day flaws at an unprecedented scale.

Wenfeng’s alignment with CCP objectives allowed DeepSeek to thrive in a landscape shaped by relentless espionage. Over the years, China has systematically targeted U.S. tech firms and academic institutions to acquire algorithms, source code, and proprietary data. DeepSeek’s development exemplifies the blurred lines between private enterprise and state ambition in China.

DeepSeek’s emergence is a testament to China’s ambition and capability in artificial intelligence. Yet, its potential to disrupt global cybersecurity, privacy, and governance cannot be overstated.

As the West grapples with this new reality, it must navigate the fine line between innovation and control, ensuring that the transformative power of AI does not become a weapon against freedom and security.

To Liang Wenfeng, DeepSeek represents the pinnacle of progress.

To the tech giants, it’s a wake-up call, shaking the foundations of their dominance.

For humanity, the true challenge isn’t in creating AI’s power but in mastering its control.