I think its much more likely this was not a bad actor, given their long history of commits.
It's a known fact that China will "recruit" people to operate them. A quote:
> They talk to them, say my friend, I see you like our special menu. Are you from China? Are you here on a VISA? Do you have family back there? Would you like your family to stay alive? Is your loyalty to this temporary employer or is your loyalty to your motherland? You know, a whole bunch of stuff like that. That’s how Chinese intelligence operations acts...
This just gives feelings of less "compromised account" and more "Your account is now our account"
It's a known fact that China will "recruit" people to operate them. A quote:
> They talk to them, say my friend, I see you like our special menu. Are you from China? Are you here on a VISA? Do you have family back there? Would you like your family to stay alive? Is your loyalty to this temporary employer or is your loyalty to your motherland? You know, a whole bunch of stuff like that. That’s how Chinese intelligence operations acts...
This just gives feelings of less "compromised account" and more "Your account is now our account"