China is preparing for war with the United States, and it is using its cyber-warfare and intelligence services to give it an advantage in future conflicts.
Although war is not imminent, it may be inevitable given the increasing competition between both nations. If war does break out, China will be prepared to destroy the U.S.’s infrastructure in such a way that we would have a hard time overcoming it.
The FBI Christopher Wray said that China’s hackers were positioning themselves on American infrastructure to cause havoc and real-world damage to American citizens and their communities if and when China decided to strike.
Jen Easterly is the Director of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. She echoed this sentiment.
She said: “This is a global world in which a major crisis halfway across the globe could endanger the lives of Americans at home by disrupting our pipelines and telecommunications systems, polluting our water, and crippling our transportation modes. All of this to ensure they can cause societal chaos and deter our ability to marshal an adequate response.”
The U.S. Government is not sitting around while China takes action. It’s nearly impossible to determine what exactly we are doing to counter this threat, due to the many layers of security that cover much of the work of the U.S. Cyber Command.
The FBI has recently dismantled a Chinese hacker’s network, which is being celebrated as an important victory.
Associated Press:
In December, FBI and Justice Department officials were able to obtain search-and-seizure orders from a Houston federal court. This has disrupted at least a part of the operation. U.S. officials have not described the impact of the disruption. Court documents, unsealed on Wednesday, say that the botnet disrupted was “just one form of infrastructure Volt Typhoon used to obfuscate its activity”.
Wray warned Wednesday that Beijing-backed hacker aims to steal business secrets to advance the Chinese economic system and steal personal data for foreign influence campaigns.
They are doing them all. “They all contribute to their ultimate goal of replacing the U.S.A. as the world’s greatest superpower,” Wray stated.
Chinese intelligence agencies also use commercial ventures, such as the EV Battery Plant they’re building and TikTok (the social media giant), to further their intelligence activities.
The former CIA director Leon Panetta said to the committee that China would use any assets it has in the U.S. for gathering information.
Panetta said, “I think it’s clear they will take advantage of this situation.” “I think we need to be vigilant and watch what’s going on.” “It’s the way they work.” “They will establish a production unit, or whatever else they can, and use it for their intelligence purposes.” “They will use it for their economic purposes.”
He continued: “They will use it to be in a position to gain advantages that are, frankly, counter to the interests of the United States.” “It is important to me that in these situations, the United States and our intelligence capabilities are used to ensure that we are aware of what they are doing to harm the United States.”
The FBI will keep a close eye on this facility. U.S. laws and constitutional restrictions still bind the FBI. Why not simply ban China from doing any business in the United States?
This EV factory, along with other Chinese manufacturing plants, will benefit Americans through the creation of jobs and by boosting local economies. To ensure that China’s attempts to undermine our national security are foiled, the trade-off between economy and security must be considered on a case-by-case basis.
