FBI Director Warns About Chinese Hackers Attacking Key US Infrastructure
Jose Nino
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FBI Director Christopher Wray recently warned about the growing threat China poses o the United States in the cyber realm. He specifically cited potential attacks against US electrical grids and other infrastructure during an appearance on January 31, 2024 in front of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
“China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike,” stated several excerpts of Wray’s prepared testimony that was unveiled by the FBI.
On top of that, Wray contended that “there has been far too little public focus” on Chinese hackers’ designs to attack critical infrastructure in the US, which includes water treatment plants, electrical grids, oil and natural gas pipelines, and transportation systems.
“And the risk that poses to every American requires our attention — now,” Wray’s prepared testimony noted.
While Wray gave his testimony, the Justice Department and the FBI announced they had smoked out a Chinese hacking operation that used botnet malware to infect hundreds of small office and home routers in an effort to target critical infrastructure.
The hackers are known in the private sector as “Volt Typhoon.” According to a Justice Department, the hackers used privately-owned small routers that were carrying “KV botnet” malware to hide additional Chinese hacking activities against U. and other foreign targets.
Wray brought up the malware in his testimony, stressing that it targets critical infrastructure in the US.
“The Volt Typhoon malware enabled China to hide, among other things, pre-operational reconnaissance and network exploitation against critical infrastructure like our communications, energy, transportation and water sectors — steps China was taking, in other words, to find and prepare to destroy or degrade the civilian critical infrastructure that keeps us safe and prosperous,” Wray declared in the testimony.
China poses unique challenges to the US, which many in the political class are not prepared to address. Instead, majority of the ruling class would rather use a 20th century geopolitical approach or go full neocon to confront China — two approaches that could likely end in some type of nuclear confrontation.
Instead, policymakers would be wise to focus on restricting immigration and decoupling trade with China. On the defense front, the US should stop overthrowing random governments and trying to nation-build. These resources would be better spent in trying to bolster the US’s cybersecurity infrastructure, which is quite vulnerable in the digital era.
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