The cybersecurity giant behind China's automated vulnerability discovery tools
In short: From antivirus software to AI-driven defense, Qihoo 360 has evolved into a massive digital force. While its rapid expansion into search engines and hardware has sparked intense regulatory scrutiny, the company is now pivoting toward advanced AI security tools capable of discovering thousands of software vulnerabilities.
Founded in June 2005 by Zhou Hongyi and Qi Xiangdong, Qihoo 360 began as an internet security firm. The company expanded aggressively, launching the so.com search engine in 2012 and entering the smartphone market that same year with the Battleship phone. Growth has caused some tension; Forbes labelled the firm litigious and confrontational because of multiple anti-competition legal battles. Beyond search and mobile hardware, the company also expanded its reach by increasing its stake in the Brazilian technology firm PSafe. Additionally, it established a venture capital fund located in Silicon Valley in 2014.
The firm's influence has also attracted major geopolitical scrutiny. In May 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security placed Qihoo 360 on its Entity List due to national security concerns regarding surveillance in Xinjiang. By October 2022, the U.S. The Department of Defense included the business on a roster of Chinese military firms active within the US. The company's controversial reputation is further complicated by accusations from Mozilla regarding its acquisition of the Certificate Authority StartCom. Furthermore, various antivirus testing organisations have accused the firm of using different engines for testing versus consumer versions.
Looking toward the future of cybersecurity, Qihoo 360 is investing heavily in artificial intelligence. At the ISC.AI 2026 conference in Beijing, founder Zhou Hongyi unveiled the 'Yitian Tulong' banner, featuring two AI security tools: Yitianzhen for automated cyber defense and Tulongfeng for automated vulnerability discovery. The company reported that Tulongfeng had identified 3,432 software vulnerabilities, with 105 of those confirmed by Chinese authorities. While some researchers, such as Alan Woodward of the University of Surrey, suggest these AI tools may not match models like Anthropic's Mythos, they represent a likely proliferation of automated security technologies. This shift towards automation follows a history of security concerns, including reports of hidden backdoors in its web browser and children's smartwatches. Such vulnerabilities have previously prompted criticism from both whistleblowers and international security researchers.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Qihoo 360
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