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By AJ Vicens and Raphael Satter (Reuters) -A breach at U.S.-based cybersecurity company F5 has been blamed on state-backed hackers from China, two people briefed on the investigation said Thursday. On Wednesday, U.S. government officials said federal networks are being targeted by an unidentified "nation-state cyber threat actor" that's trying to exploit vulnerabilities in products made by F5. The company and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), when contacted by Reuters, did not confirm whether the breach was carried out by Chinese state-backed hackers. "These same risks extend to any organization using this technology, potentially leading to a catastrophic compromise of critical information systems," CISA Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala said in a statement, without specifying who was behind the hack. The two people briefed on the investigation said the hackers were inside F5's network for more than a year.  (Reporting by Raphael Satter and AJ Vicens. Devika Nair, Gnaneshwar Rajan, and Nilutpal Timsina provided additional reporting; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Rashmi Aich and Franklin Paul)

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By Manya Saini (Reuters) -Crypto heavyweight Kraken said on Thursday it has acquired futures exchange Small Exchange from IG Group for $100 million, paving the way to launch a fully U.S.-based derivatives suite. The cryptocurrency sector is maturing as digital assets gain broader acceptance and traditional financial firms increasingly engage through regulated products such as futures, options and tokenized securities. Small Exchange is a U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission-licensed designated contract market, giving Kraken a regulated venue to offer futures and options to both retail and institutional clients. "Under CFTC oversight, Kraken can now integrate clearing, risk and matching into one environment that meets the same standards as the largest exchanges in the world," Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, said in a statement. Once the preserve of banks and brokers, the derivatives market is drawing digital asset firms looking for liquidity and risk management. Analysts say adoption is likely to accelerate as more institutional and traditional financial players enter the digital asset space. "Digital asset firms are no longer content being sideshow players. They aim to wrest seats in the core capital markets ecosystem," said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and CIO at Running Point Capital Advisors. The derivatives market is likely to pull closer together, with big exchanges and fintech firms first testing offerings like tokenized futures and hybrid products at the edges, then rolling them out more widely, he added. Crypto-linked futures and options have been among the fastest-growing segments as investors seek to manage risk. "By securing the necessary licensing and infrastructure today, Kraken is laying the groundwork for institutional-grade markets as crypto matures," the company said. The deal comes as a more crypto-friendly regulatory tone under U.S. President Donald Trump encourages digital asset firms to expand in the United States with promises of clearer rules. Earlier this year, Kraken agreed to buy retail futures trading platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion. (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

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By Rachel More BERLIN (Reuters) -European carmakers could face significant disruption to manufacturing without a swift resolution to a trade and intellectual property dispute over chipmaker Nexperia between China and the Dutch government, an industry association warned on Thursday. The dispute could cause further strain on Europe's automotive sector, whose carmakers and suppliers are already battling tariffs, foreign competition and weak demand. It also thrusts Nexperia into a trade war between the world's two biggest economies, with U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheting up pressure on tech as China curbs rare earth exports. SPOTLIGHT ON CHINESE OWNER WINGTECH ACEA, the European Union's auto association, said it was "deeply concerned by potential significant disruption to European vehicle manufacturing if the interruption of Nexperia chips supplies cannot be immediately resolved". Carmakers and their suppliers received notice from Nexperia last week that it could no longer guarantee delivery of its chips, the ACEA said in a statement. "Without these chips, European automotive suppliers cannot build the parts and components needed to supply vehicle manufacturers and this therefore threatens production stoppages," the statement said. "We hope to get all challenges resolved soon to the best of everyone's interests," a Nexperia spokesperson said. He said the company could not comment further beyond a statement on Tuesday that said it is engaging with Chinese authorities to obtain an exemption from restrictions. The Dutch government announced on Sunday that it had as of September 30 taken control of Chinese-owned computer chipmaker Nexperia, citing worries about the possible transfer of technology to Nexperia's Chinese parent company, Wingtech. Court documents showed the Dutch government's move came after months of rising U.S. pressure on the company. Nexperia was at risk of being impacted by a new U.S. rule that extends export control restrictions to companies at least 50% owned by one or more entities on the U.S. entity list. Washington put Wingtech, which has 100% ownership of Nexperia, on the U.S. list in late December. The Chinese commerce ministry issued on October 4 an export control notice prohibiting Nexperia China and its subcontractors from exporting specific finished components and sub-assemblies manufactured in China, according to a statement Nexperia published on Tuesday. Nexperia chips are not technically sophisticated but are needed in large volumes. Its biggest manufacturing site is in Hamburg, Germany, but most of its chips are packaged and assembled into larger products in China. AUTOMAKERS, SUPPLIERS WORK TO IDENTIFY RISKS Volkswagen and BMW are among the carmakers whose supplier networks include Nexperia, with Bosch among the German auto suppliers who use its chips. Volkswagen and BMW both said production had not yet been impacted by the issues but that they were working to identify potential supply risks. "We are monitoring the current situation closely and are also in contact with the manufacturer Nexperia, which is one of our suppliers for electronic components," a Bosch spokesperson said. Mercedes-Benz said it was monitoring the situation and in touch with relevant stakeholders, without giving further details. A spokesperson declined to say whether Nexperia was part of the company's supplier network. "Stellantis is closely monitoring the situation and collaborating with Nexperia and other suppliers to assess potential impacts and develop mitigation measures," a spokesperson for the carmaker said. China's commerce ministry, responding to a question on Nexperia, said on Thursday that it opposed interference in the internal affairs of enterprises through administrative means, and that it would take the necessary measures to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. (Additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam, Che Pan in Beijing and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Matthias Williams, Mark Potter and Ed Osmond)

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