Chinese attack During a speech at Vanderbilt University, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned of Chinese government-linked hackers infiltrating critical US infrastructure, set to strike at a strategic moment.

Wray outlined an ongoing hacking campaign dubbed Volt Typhoon, orchestrated by Chinese hackers, which has successfully breached multiple American companies across crucial sectors such as telecommunications, energy, and water. Notably, 23 pipeline operators have been targeted.

According to Wray, China aims to disrupt US critical infrastructure at will, potentially causing widespread panic among civilians. This cyber pre-positioning aligns with China’s broader objective of dissuading US support for Taiwan.

China’s claims over Taiwan, a democratically governed territory, remain contentious, with Taiwan vehemently rejecting China’s sovereignty assertions and insisting on its right to self-determination.

In response to allegations linking Volt Typhoon to the Chinese government, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied any official involvement, attributing the campaign to a criminal ransomware group instead. The Chinese Embassy in Washington echoed this sentiment, accusing some elements in the US of politicising cybersecurity matters and wrongly framing China as the aggressor.

Wray disclosed that Chinese hackers employ a network of compromised personal computers and servers worldwide, known as botnets, to obfuscate their cyber activities. Previous reports from American technology and cybersecurity firms, including Microsoft and Google, have also implicated China in the Volt Typhoon campaign.

(With Reuters inputs)