FBI chief says Chinese hackers pose threat to US critical infrastructure

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) chief said on Thursday that Chinese government-linked hackers have burrowed into US critical infrastructure and are waiting "for just the right moment to deal a devastating blow".

During a speech at Vanderbilt University, Wray said that an ongoing Chinese hacking campaign known as Volt Typhoon has successfully gained access to numerous American companies in telecommunications, energy, water and other critical sectors. He said 23 pipeline operators are targeted.

"The PRC [People's Republic of China] has made it clear that it considers every sector that makes our society run as fair game in its bid to dominate on the world stage, and that its plan is to land low blows against civilian infrastructure to try to induce panic and break America’s will to resist,Wray further said.

In order to tackle the threats, the FBI chief suggested that partnerships with both the private sector and academia can turn out to be powerful tools.

Wray added that the threat from China is hybrid, which involves crime, counterintelligence, and cybersecurity. He said that the FBI is countering these threats with resources from all three missional spheres.

He said that the threat is partially "driven by the CCP's aspirations to wealth and power". He added that China wants to "seize economic development in the areas most critical to tomorrow's economy," even if doing so requires theft.

He claimed that the Chinese government has tried to pilfer "intellectual property, technology, and research" from nearly every industry in the US economy.

This comes after a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said earlier this week that the Volt Typhoon was in fact unrelated to China's government, but is part of a criminal ransomware group.

In a statement, China's Embassy in Washington referred back to the MFA spokesperson's comment. "Some in the US have been using origin-tracing of cyberattacks as a tool to hit and frame China, claiming the US to be the victim while it's the other way round, and politicizing cybersecurity issues."

(With inputs from agencies)