11 December 2024

How Conflict With China Might Play Out in the Cyber Realm

Carrie Pallardy

Earlier this year, China-linked threat group Salt Typhoon allegedly breached major telecommunications companies, potentially gaining access to US wiretap systems. The full scope of the breach remains unknown, and the hackers are potentially still lurking in telecommunications networks.

This breach is hardly the first time a group associated with China targeted critical infrastructure in the US. Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and Christopher Wray, director of the FBI, have both been vocal about the threat China poses to US critical infrastructure.

In a 2024 opening statement before the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, Easterly said, “Specifically, Chinese cyber actors, including a group known as ‘Volt Typhoon,’ are burrowing deep into our critical infrastructure to be ready to launch destructive cyber-attacks in the event of a major crisis or conflict with the United States.”


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