China is preparing its legion of hackers to “wreak havoc” on critical US infrastructure, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned lawmakers Wednesday.
NEW YORK POST
Digital infiltrators working for the People’s Republic of China are specifically targeting American water treatment plants, the electrical grid, oil and natural gas pipelines and transportation systems, according to the FBI director, who noted that the Chinese hackers far outnumber the bureau’s cyber personnel.
“China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real world harm to American citizens and communities if and when China decides the time has come to strike,” Wray told the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
“To quantify what we’re up against, the PRC has a bigger hacking program than that of every major nation combined,” the FBI director said.
“In fact, if you took every single one of the FBI cyber agents and intelligence analysts and focus them exclusively on the China threat, China’s hackers would still outnumber FBI cyber personnel by at least 50-to1.”
Wray described the PRC’s hacking efforts as part of a the communist country’s “multi-pronged assault on our national and economic security,” which he called “the defining threat of our generation.”
