The Chinese military has infiltrated critical U.S. infrastructure in an effort to sow chaos on America’s systems.
Hackers affiliated with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have targeted U.S. power and water utilities, communications and transportation systems, according to government and security industry officials.
?AMERICA UNDER ATTACK: China Hackers infiltrate key U.S Services, power grids pic.twitter.com/47H1hhTkK6
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 11, 2023
The hacking campaign is meant to disrupt logistical and economic systems in the event of a U.S.-China conflict in the Pacific over Taiwan’s independence.
From the Washington Post:
Among the victims are a water utility in Hawaii, a major West Coast port and at least one oil and gas pipeline, people familiar with the incidents told The Washington Post. The hackers also attempted to break into the operator of Texas’s power grid, which operates independently from electrical systems in the rest of the country.
Several entities outside the United States, including electric utilities, also have been victimized by the hackers, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
None of the intrusions affected industrial control systems that operate pumps, pistons or any critical function, or caused a disruption, U.S. officials said. But they said the attention to Hawaii, which is home to the Pacific Fleet, and to at least one port as well as logistics centers suggests the Chinese military wants the ability to complicate U.S. efforts to ship troops and equipment to the region if a conflict breaks out over Taiwan.
The hacking effort sheds light on China’s cyber army called “Volt Typhoon” that was first discovered by the U.S. government earlier this year.
According to the Microsoft Threat Intelligence report published in May, the group was “pursuing development of capabilities that could disrupt critical communications infrastructure between the United States and Asia region during future crises.”
The state-sponsored Volt Typhoon group used “stealthy” programming techniques to target “critical communications infrastructure” which affected nearly every major sector in America after Joe Biden took office.
Volt Typhoon has been active since mid-2021 and has targeted critical infrastructure organizations in Guam and elsewhere in the United States. In this campaign, the affected organizations span the communications, manufacturing, utility, transportation, construction, maritime, government, information technology, and education sectors. Observed behavior suggests that the threat actor intends to perform espionage and maintain access without being detected for as long as possible.
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) last week warned China’s military has the capability to carry out Pearl Harbor-style surprise attack on the U.S.
“I think we need to be very vigilant, especially now. Xi Jinping has stated he wants to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027,” he said. “So vigilance now is critical.”
“When dictators are having problems at home, they often divert attention by creating overseas invasions by invading their neighbors,” he added.
This comes just weeks after Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom, along with key members of America’s tech and government elite, rolled out the welcome mat for Chinese dictator Xi Jinping during his visit to San Francisco.
