The FBI has reiterated its “laser focus” on ending efforts by Chinese state actors to hack and destabilize American infrastructure.
He Financial times (paywall) reported on comments made this week by FBI Director Christopher Wray, who also claimed that the law enforcement agency had thwarted recent attempts by the Chinese state to disrupt US public utility infrastructure. US, under the guise of a hacking network known only as Volt Typhoon.
Wray spoke specifically about how the proliferation of malware is making operations like Volt Typhoon even more common. According to him, hacking is the Chinese government's latest means of placing “offensive weapons within our critical infrastructure, ready to strike whenever.” [it] decides that the time is right.”
The specter of foreign espionage
Wray also warned that Volt Typhoon and other similar organizations were not only seeking to disrupt American industry, but also other targets around the world.
While stating that the Chinese government's cyber espionage activities had reached a fever pitch, Wray also said he believed the US campaign to raise awareness of the threat was working, with citizens “increasingly more attuned to the threat compared to Many years ago”.
He said governments around the world were also increasingly aware of the problem. In October 2023, the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, which comprises the United States and Canada along with several European and Oceanic governments such as the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, held its first meeting on the topic.
Wray said he believes European countries are diverting more resources to address the problem, and that “they” were “all moving.”[ing] in the same direction'.
The spectrum of AI
Wray stated that advances in the field of artificial intelligence would allow it to act as a “force multiplier” that would “accelerate” the Chinese government's efforts over time.
Until then, he believes that staying focused on Chinese cyber espionage amid other international events like the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine wars is key, because even if it “doesn't have the kind of immediacy that an all-out military conflict has,” it's still “an equally big crisis.”
