‘In position to wreak havoc’: FBI director warns of China threat before retirement

OUTGOING FBI DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER WRAY CALLED CHINA’S CYBER CAPABILITIES **THE “DEFINING THREAT OF OUR GENERATION.” 

IN A “60 MINUTES” INTERVIEW, WRAY WARNED THAT CHINA HAS ALREADY INFILTRATED CRITICAL U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING WATER TREATMENT PLANTS, THE ELECTRICAL GRID, NATURAL GAS PIPELINES, AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS. 

“there’s another part of the threat that has not gotten the attention publicly that it desperately deserves, and that’s the chinese government’s pre-positioning on american civilian infrastructure, to lie in wait, to be in a position to wreak havoc and inflict real world harm at a time and place of their choosing.”   

WRAY SAYS CHINA HAS PRE-POSITIONED MALWARE WITHIN THESE SYSTEMS.

HE ALSO RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT CHINA’S ABILITY TO SPY ON HIGH-LEVEL U.S. OFFICIALS, HINTING THAT BEIJING MAY HAVE INTERCEPTED COMMUNICATIONS FROM FIGURES SUCH AS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS, AND NATIONAL SECURITY PERSONNEL.

ALTHOUGH HE DID NOT CONFIRM SPECIFIC SURVEILLANCE TARGETS, CBS’S “60 MINUTES” VERIFIED THAT CHINA HAD MONITORED COMMUNICATIONS FROM THESE GROUPS.

OTHER REPORTS SUGGEST MUCH BROADER IMPLICATIONS IN REGARDS TO THE ESPIONAGE OPERATIONS OUT OF CHINA.

U.S. SENIOR OFFICIALS TOLD THE WASHINGTON POST CHINESE HACKERS **MAINTAIN ACCESS TO AMERICAN TELECOM COMPANIES –

POTENTIALLY EXPOSING MILLIONS OF MOBILE PHONE USERS FROM THREE MAJOR U.S. CARRIERS.

THE THREAT WRAY IS SOUNDING THE ALARM OVER IS ECHOED IN THE ANNUAL REPORT FROM “THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE”, WHICH LABELED CHINA AS THE MOST PERSISTENT CYBER THREAT TO THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR.. 

THE REPORT SUGGESTS THAT IF BEIJING WERE TO ENTER A CONFLICT WITH THE U.S., IT MAY CONSIDER AGGRESSIVE CYBER OPERATIONS AIMED AT U.S. MILITARY AND CIVILIAN ASSETS, WITH THE GOAL OF DISRUPTING TROOP DEPLOYMENTS AND CAUSING SOCIETAL PANIC.

CHINA HAS LONG BEEN ACCUSED OF ENGAGING IN STATE-SPONSORED HACKING CAMPAIGNS TARGETING THE U.S. AND OTHER NATIONS. 

IN RESPONSE TO THESE ACTIVITIES, THE U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT IMPOSED SANCTIONS ON “INTEGRITY TECHNOLOGY GROUP INCORPORATED” – A BEIJING-BASED CYBERSECURITY FIRM – ON JANUARY 3. 

THE COMPANY IS LINKED TO THE “FLAX TYPHOON” HACKING GROUP, WHICH HAS BEEN TARGETING U.S. CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS SINCE AT LEAST 2021.

HOWEVER, CHINA CONTINUES TO DENY THESE ACCUSATIONS.

AT A JANUARY 6 NEWS BRIEFING, A CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN REJECTED CLAIMS OF STATE-SPONSORED HACKING AND CRITICIZED THE U.S. FOR USING CYBERSECURITY ISSUES TO “VILIFY CHINA.” 

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