The FBI director says hackers linked to the Chinese government have breached critical U.S. infrastructure.
Washington:
FBI Director Christopher Wray said Thursday that hackers linked to the Chinese government have infiltrated critical U.S. infrastructure and are waiting for “the right moment to carry out a devastating strike.”
Wray said in a speech at Vanderbilt University that China’s ongoing hacking campaign, dubbed “Volt Typhoon,” has successfully breached numerous U.S. companies in telecommunications, energy, water and other critical sectors, targeting 23 pipeline operators. .
Wray told the 2024 Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats that China is developing “the ability to wreak havoc on our critical infrastructure at a time of its choosing.” “Its plan was to carry out low-intensity strikes against civilian infrastructure in an attempt to induce panic.”
Wray said it was difficult to determine the intent of such network pre-deployment and whether it fit into China’s broader intent to prevent the United States from defending Taiwan.
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never given up the use of force to control the island. Taiwan strongly opposes China’s sovereignty claims and says only its people can determine their future.
Earlier this week, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that Volt Typhoon was not actually connected to the Chinese government but was part of a ransomware criminal organization.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington responded to the Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s comments in a statement. Some people in the United States use traceability of cyber attacks as a tool to attack and frame China, saying that the United States is the victim, and politicizing cyber security issues.
Lei said Chinese hackers operate a series of botnets – networks of infected PCs and servers spread across the globe – to hide their malicious cyber activities. Private U.S. technology and cybersecurity companies have previously blamed China for Typhoon Volta, including reports from security researchers at Microsoft and Google.
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