FBI director warns of Chinese hacking efforts to 'wreak havoc' on US critical infrastructure

FBI Director Christopher Wray told a congressional committee this week that hackers backed by the Chinese communist regime are preparing to "cripple" American infrastructure should Beijing decide "the time has come to strike."

Wray indicated in his statement to the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Wednesday that the intelligence community has assessed that "China is attempting to pre-position on U.S. critical infrastructure—setting up back doors to cripple vital assets and systems in the event China invades Taiwan and therefore, limiting our ability to assist Taiwan."

"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," Wray told lawmakers in his oral testimony.

In one example, the FBI director noted that hackers affiliated with the Chinese military gained access to the computer networks of a major American transportation hub. Gas pipelines, the electric grid, and water treatment plants have similarly been targeted.

Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) said that "this is the cyberspace equivalent of placing bombs on American bridges, water treatment facilities and power plants," reported CNN.

"There is no economic benefit for these actions. There's no pure intelligence-gathering rationale," continued Gallagher. "The sole purpose is to be ready to destroy American infrastructure, which would inevitably result in chaos, confusion and potentially mass casualties."

The U.S. has long known of efforts by state-backed Chinese hackers to compromise American systems and exploit vulnerabilities.

These efforts in cyberspace to compromise American security come amidst similarly brazen aerial and ground operations. The regime has, for instance, sent spy craft over the mainland U.S.; operated illegal police stations on American soil; threatened diplomats; and dispatched agents to execute espionage and political destabilization missions.

China does not appear to be merely posturing. The communist regime, which has been building up its military and preparing for war at a time when the U.S. military has been assessed as "weak," has made expressly clear in recent months that it intends to take the island nation of Taiwan. In the face of significant demographic, economic, and social troubles at home, the communist regime may increasingly see such a military adventure as an opportunity to change its fate and fortune.

"[Communist China] represents the defining threat of this era," said Wray. "There is no country that presents a broader, more comprehensive threat to our ideas, our innovation, our economic security, and, ultimately, our national security."

Wray also expressed concerns about the use of Tiktok by the Chinese regime to "control data collection on millions of users, which can be used for all sorts of intelligence operations or influence operations."

Extra to collecting data on Americans and pushing influence operations, the FBI director indicated TikTok gives Beijing the ability "to control the software on millions of devices, which means the opportunity to technically compromise millions of devices."

Gen. Paul Nakasone, the head of the National Security Agency, told lawmakers, "We need to have a vigilance that continues onward."

"This is not an episodic threat that we're going to face. This is persistent," added Nakasone.

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