FBI Director Warns Of China's Cyber Threat, Labels Current Situation As 'Tip Of The Iceberg'

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray has issued a stark warning about the scale of China’s cyber threat to the United States, calling it a national security threat.

What Happened: During the annual security conference in Munich, Wray cautioned that China’s covert placement of offensive malware in U.S. critical infrastructure networks is now at "a scale greater than we'd seen before," reported The Wall Street Journal on Sunday. He highlighted the Volt Typhoon, a Chinese hacking network, which has been dormant within the U.S. critical infrastructure.

Wray stated that the pre-positioned malware could be activated at any time to disrupt the U.S. critical infrastructure. He described this as “the tip of the iceberg” and one of many similar efforts by China.

He refrained from specifying which other critical infrastructure had been targeted, emphasizing that the FBI is actively investigating the matter.

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Wray’s warning is the latest in a series of public alerts by senior officials in the Biden administration about China’s advanced and well-resourced hacking capabilities. Western intelligence officials have noted a significant increase in the scale and sophistication of China’s cyberattacks over the past decade.

Wray has been urging foreign governments to ramp up their efforts to counter Chinese hacking campaigns, particularly in safeguarding critical infrastructure. He has expressed satisfaction with the response, noting a significant shift from the skepticism that existed several years ago.

"I am seeing more from Europe," Wray said. "We're laser focused on this as a real threat and we're working with a lot of partners to try to identify it, anticipate it and disrupt it."

Wray noted that artificial intelligence tools are now amplifying those attacks. "They already have built economic espionage and theft of personal and corporate data as a kind of a bedrock of their economic strategy and are eagerly pursuing AI advancements to try to accelerate that process," he said.

Why It Matters: This warning from Wray comes on the heels of a series of events that have underscored the escalating cyber threats from China. In January, Wray told Congress that hackers with ties to the Chinese government were targeting crucial U.S. infrastructure, including civilian sectors. He described these attacks as “low blows against civilians” and a part of China’s larger plan.

Earlier that month, the U.S. had initiated a crackdown on a widespread Chinese cyber espionage effort known as the Volt Typhoon, which had breached numerous internet-connected devices globally. This initiative, led by the Justice Department and the FBI, saw legal measures being put in place to dismantle key components of this cyber intrusion.

Amid these developments, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has once again called for a "Geneva convention around cyber."

Furthermore, the sophistication of Chinese hackers has been on the rise, as evidenced by the recent hack of Microsoft email accounts of U.S. government officials. This has raised concerns among U.S. cybersecurity officials about potential extensive infiltration into U.S. government and corporate networks.

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