Hackers with ties to the Chinese government have penetrated critical US infrastructure. They are currently waiting for the "right moment to strike a devastating blow." This was stated by the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Christopher Wray, Reuters reports, UNN writes.
Details
It is noted that the Chinese hacking campaign known as Volt Typhoon has successfully gained access to numerous American companies in the telecommunications, energy, water and other critical sectors.
China is developing "the ability to physically destroy our critical infrastructure at a time of its choosing. Its plan is to launch low-level strikes on civilian infrastructure to try to cause panic,
He noted that it is difficult to determine the intent of this cyber forward posturing, which is consistent with China's broader intent to keep the United States from defending Taiwan.
Addendum
China considers the island of Taiwan to be its own territory and has never ruled out the use of force to bring it back under its control. Taiwan strongly objects to China's claims to sovereignty and says that only the island's residents can decide their future.
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Volt Typhoon was not actually affiliated with the Chinese government, but was part of a criminal ransomware group.
Some in the U.S. are using the tracing of the source of cyberattacks as a tool to attack China, claiming that the U.S. is a victim, when it is not, and politicizing cybersecurity,
Ray added that the Chinese hackers operated a series of botnets - constellations of compromised personal computers and servers around the world - to hide their malicious cyber activities. U.S. tech companies and private sector cybersecurity firms have previously attributed Volt Typhoon to China, including reports from security researchers at Microsoft and Google.
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