FBI Director Warns Congress of Imminent Chinese Cyber Threats to U.S. Infrastructure

FBI Director Christopher Wray is set to issue a stark warning to the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, highlighting the escalating threat of Chinese cyberattacks against crucial U.S. infrastructure, including electrical grids. In his testimony, Wray will stress that China's hackers are strategically positioning themselves to potentially inflict real-world harm on American citizens and communities.

Excerpts from Wray's prepared testimony emphasize the urgency of addressing the "far too little public focus" on Chinese hackers targeting critical U.S. infrastructure components, such as water treatment plants, electrical grids, oil and gas pipelines, and transportation systems. He contends that the risks posed by these cyber threats demand immediate attention.

Wray will underscore that the cyberattacks orchestrated by Chinese hackers extend beyond preparations for future conflicts, portraying them as an ongoing assault on U.S. economic security. He will draw attention to the active daily attacks, describing them as a "wholesale theft of our innovation, and our personal and corporate data."

The FBI Director will stress that these cyber threats not only impact national security and the economy but also target American freedoms, reaching into the country's borders to silence, coerce, and threaten citizens and residents. Wray's remarks are part of a series of warnings he has issued about the formidable hacking capabilities of the Chinese government.

China-linked hackers made headlines in the previous year for breaching email accounts of the State and Commerce departments, along with the email of the U.S. ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns. The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency revealed that the targeted intelligence-gathering campaign lasted approximately a month.

Wray's testimony highlights the increasing concern within U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies regarding the persistent and evolving cyber threats posed by Chinese hackers, necessitating robust measures to safeguard critical infrastructure and national security.