China wants to target critical infrastructure like water facilities and energy grids, FBI director said

Chinese state-sponsored hackers have conducted widespread cyberattacks on critical American infrastructure in recent years, intending to give the country the ability to cause “a devastating blow” against the US, according to FBI Director Christopher Wray.

“The fact is, the PRC [People’s Republic of China] targeting of our critical infrastructure is both broad and unrelenting,” he told a security conference in Nashville on Thursday, describing China’s hacking programme as growing in strength.

“It’s using that mass, those numbers, to give itself the ability to physically wreak havoc on our critical infrastructure at a time of its choosing,” he added.

Last year, security analysts at Microsoft identified mysterious code linked to communications systems in Guam, the US territory in the Pacific with a massive strategic air base.

Officials believe the code was the work of Volt Typhoon, a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group.

  • penquin@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    I mean a lot of government shit is still on the old cobol code.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      You can’t upgrade when congress won’t allocate money for your department to do so. Or raise the taxes necessary to raise that money.

      • penquin@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Fuck raising taxes (unless it’s only rich fucks and corporations then I’m OK with it) they can take 1% of that infinite money stream they have running for the defense budget. We don’t $1 trillion for the military

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I’m not sure why you assumed I meant anyone other than the rich and corporations on the Lemmy news community.

          • penquin@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            I didn’t assume anything. You didn’t specify so I wanted to specify it to make it known. High five :)

          • Promethiel@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I see this happen to you a lot; don’t forget the safest place to make and attack straw-men is usually the place with the least valid targets. You’re a perpetual victim of missed nuance and that is the cost of discourse nowadays. I’d say don’t let the bastards grind you down but there’s not even that many here just people assuming you’re the bastard.