Chinese-linked hackers are standing ready to attack critical US infrastructure, warned the head of the FBI on Thursday.

“(China’s) plan is to land low blows against civilian infrastructure to try to induce panic and break America’s will to resist,” Christopher Wray said at the 2024 Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats in Nashville, Tennessee.

Wray issued a warning that Chinese-linked hackers have set their sights on oil and natural gas pipelines, transportation systems, the electrical grid, and more.

“It took the hackers all of 15 minutes to steal data related to the control and monitoring systems, while ignoring financial and business-related information, which suggests their goals were even more sinister than stealing a leg up economically,” he said, adding that FBI and other federal authorities have been working behind the scenes to counter these threats.

On Jan. 31, Wray issued a similar warning to lawmakers during a House Select Committee on China hearing.