The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the F.B.I., testified in from of a Congressional committee yesterday. He laid out a few facts regarding cybersecurity concerns that have occupied the Bureau's cybersecurity experts. These tech wizards are charged with securing domestic networks and the controls over the vast infrastructure(s) that keep the national utility system free from outside interference. Mr. Wray spelled out what has been going on as a result of the Chinese military's infiltration of computer networks in the USA.
He specified in detail what the hacking attacks have attempted. The Beijing hackers focused on such things as air traffic control, water systems in urban areas, pipeline operations, communications, and other transportation facilities. This past December, the Justice Department and the F.B.I. obtained court approval to dismantle a botnet, consisting of home computers and small office computer routers. Most of this equipment was so-called end-of-life gear, that material so old it no longer receives fixes and updates and remains vulnerable when still in service. These nodes were used to hide infiltrations from outside hackers who used them to conceal their malware tools designed to infect operational software.
The statements concerning these Chinese hackers' activities were made in front of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese Embassy in Washington didn't respond to a request for comment. The types of attacks and attempts were not spelled out but were known to be targeting "water treatment plants, the electrical grid, natural gas pipelines and train controls."
Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said these attacks would add to the chaos during a Chinese attack half way around the world, and so deter any military response and cause fear and anxiety at home.
Hmmmmm. And now we know that online postings of economic decline in China have been systematically removed by the PLA. And why?
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