FBI says China state-sponsored hackers ramping up efforts to damage electric grid, transport systems, oil pipelines.
United States officials say they dismantled a China-backed hacking operation targeting civilian infrastructure, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned of future threats if the two superpowers ever go to war.
The Chinese state-sponsored hacking group Volt Typhoon allegedly sought to damage public sector facilities such as water treatment plants, the electric grid, oil and natural gas pipelines and transport systems at the behest of China.
FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday warned that Beijing is positioning itself to disrupt the daily lives of Americans if the US and China ever go to war, as he spoke before the House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
He said there has been far too little public focus on a cyber-threat that affects “every American”.
“China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike,” Wray added.
Malware
Chinese hackers had hijacked a botnet of hundreds of US-based small office and home routers owned by private citizens and companies, intent on covering their tracks as they sowed the malware, according to the FBI.
The routers were easy targets as they were no longer supported by their maker’s security patches or software…
