China Internet Security Service Provider Qihoo 360 Suffers Sudden Malicious Attack

On Tuesday, news about a malicious attack at Qihoo 360, a Chinese Internet security service provider, went viral on Weibo, one of the country’s most popular social media outlets.

A picture of a man being escorted out of the gate with Qihoo 360’s logo in the background was circulated on the Internet on Tuesday. According to local media outlet Sina Tech, the man is a customer of 360 Digital Tech, a subsidiary of Qihoo 360, but the story has not been officially confirmed.

Qihoo 360 subsequently responded: “An employee was injured by an outsider this morning in our office located in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The company has reported the case to the police. At present, the case is being investigated.”

Qihoo 360 is a leading Internet security service provider in China and which was established in June 1992. It is the pioneer of free Internet security and has successively launched its own security APP called 360 Security in addition to releasing smartphone guards, web browsers and other products.

360 Digital Tech was established in July 2016 and its products include IOUs, micro-loans and instalments. In 2018, it successfully listed on the Nasdaq.

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According to data provided by iResearch, as of mid-2021, the market penetration rate of Qihoo 360’s PC security products was 97.60%, with average monthly active users exceeding 479 million. The penetration rate of its PC browsers is 86.60%, with MAUs reaching 425 million.

Update: According to a police statement issued on Wednesday, a man attacked a Qihoo 360 employee at the company’s Chengdu office because of a loan dispute with its IOUs platform. The injured party was immediately sent to hospital and is now in stable condition. The case is under further investigation.