OAN’s Brooke Mallory
12:26 PM – Friday, April 19, 2024
According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, hackers connected to the Chinese government are waiting for the ideal opportunity to “deal a devastating blow” to vital infrastructure in the United States.
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During a speech at Vanderbilt University, Wray stated that numerous American companies in vital sectors, such as energy and water, have been compromised by the Chinese hacker outfit Volt Typhoon.
Wray said that China is able “to physically wreak havoc on our critical infrastructure at a time of its choosing,” according to Reuters. Hackers plan on “land[ing] low blows against civilian infrastructure to try to induce panic,” he added.
Although the purpose of the preparation is unclear, Wray stated that it was consistent with China’s larger objective of preventing the U.S. from defending Taiwan.
However, earlier this week, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that Volt Typhoon belonged to a criminal ransomware organization rather than the Chinese government. Reuters reported that security researchers from Google and Microsoft had previously linked Volt Typhoon to China.
According to Wray, the hackers have infiltrated servers and personal computers all throughout the world in order to hide their activity.
Additionally, Microsoft revealed in a report about a year ago that Volt Typhoon had been gaining access to network systems and login credentials of America’s critical infrastructure organizations. Since mid-2021, Volt Typhoon has been affecting the following industries: government, information technology, manufacturing, communications, utilities, transportation, construction, and maritime.
According to Microsoft, the group works to “gain access” to companies’ networks and spy on them “without being detected for as long as possible.”
National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy D. Haugh stated that China was gaining access to vital American networks prior to a direct confrontation between the two countries, according to the New York Times.
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