FBI Director Warns Chinese Hackers Are Preparing to “Wreak Chaos” in US

(CNN) — FBI Director Christopher Wray is expected to warn Wednesday that Chinese hackers are preparing to cause “real-world destruction and damage” to the United States.

“Chinese hackers are positioning themselves in American infrastructure in preparation for real-world destruction and harm to American citizens and communities if China decides it’s time to strike,” Ray will tell the House Select Committee on Chinese Communist Party representatives. , according to a copy of his statements shared with CNN.

It’s Wray’s most direct public warning yet about the threat posed by Chinese hackers to critical infrastructure across the country. The director of the National Security Agency and other senior US officials will also testify before the panel on Wednesday about China’s cyber activity.

Hackers are targeting things like “our water treatment plants, our power grid, our oil and gas pipelines, our transportation systems,” Wray said.

The FBI and Justice Department have previously emphasized their interest in preventing malware campaigns by the Chinese government and hackers.

CNN reported that in recent months, federal law enforcement agencies have used a court order to allow the Justice Department to update vulnerable software used by thousands of devices in the United States that are at the center of the hacking campaign. Chinese cyber targeting sensitive US critical infrastructure. However, hackers are believed to be deeply embedded in American infrastructure.

The move by the Justice Department and the FBI is part of a broader government-wide effort to minimize the impact of an ongoing Chinese hacking campaign that US officials fear could hamper the US military’s response in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. via CNN. It is believed that hackers use access to some devices to break into sensitive critical infrastructure such as ports and transport networks.

The Chinese government has previously denied allegations of hacking.

Wray will say Wednesday that China’s efforts go beyond technology, according to his remarks. “They target our liberties by reaching across the United States, within our borders, to silence, coerce and threaten our citizens and residents,” he said.

As CNN exclusively reported on Tuesday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping told President Joe Biden that China would not interfere in the 2024 US presidential election when the two met in November. This assurance was repeated by the Chinese foreign minister to Biden’s national security adviser. Late last week, two people familiar with the conversation told CNN.

CNN’s Sean Lingas and Ivan Perez contributed to this report.