FBI says Chinese hackers preparing to attack US infrastructure
April 18, 2024
Nashville,
Tennessee - Chinese government-linked hackers have
burrowed into U.S. critical infrastructure and are waiting "for just the
right moment to deal a devastating blow," FBI Director Christopher Wray
said on Thursday.
An
ongoing Chinese hacking campaign known as Volt Typhoon has successfully
gained access to numerous American companies in telecommunications,
energy, water and other critical sectors, with 23 pipeline operators
targeted, Wray said in a speech at Vanderbilt University.
China
is developing the "ability to physically wreak havoc on our critical
infrastructure at a time of its choosing," Wray said at the 2024
Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats. "Its plan is
to land low blows against civilian infrastructure to try to induce
panic."
Wray
said it was difficult to determine the intent of this cyber
pre-positioning which was aligned with China's broader intent to deter
the U.S. from defending Taiwan.
China
claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has
never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.
Taiwan strongly objects to China's sovereignty claims and says only the
island's people can decide their future.
Earlier this week, a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said Volt Typhoon was in fact unrelated to China's government, but is part of a criminal ransomware group.
In
a statement, China's Embassy in Washington referred back to the MFA
spokesperson's comment. "Some in the US have been using origin-tracing
of cyberattacks as a tool to hit and frame China, claiming the US to be
the victim while it's the other way round, and politicizing
cybersecurity issues."
Wray
said China's hackers operated a series of botnets - constellations of
compromised personal computers and servers around the globe - to conceal
their malicious cyber activities. Private sector American technology
and cybersecurity companies previously attributed Volt Typhoon to China,
including reports by security researchers with Microsoft and Google.
1 comment:
I sincerely believe that cities and businesses across the country will be hit with a devastating blow. Be prepared. (USA)
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