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☆ Biden replaces Obama-era infrastructure protections to defend against Chinese cyberthreats
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Biden's new policy is largely a rewrite of the Obama administration's rule to safeguard U.S. critical infrastructure called the Presidential Policy Directive, or PPD-21, which was published in 2013. The effort to redraft that Obama-era infrastructure policy began over a year ago, in part to modernize it and keep up with hackers who have benefited from over a decade of technological advancement. The Biden administration has warned China not to help Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, or else the U.S. would be ready to act with sanctions. "We're aware now of the serious Chinese threat to our critical infrastructure, specifically prepositioning to disrupt or destroy critical infrastructure in the event of a major crisis," a senior administration official said. "The presidential policy directive that was created in 2013 didn't mention anything about CISA's role because we weren't created yet," a senior administration official said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Obama, cyberattacks, Christopher Wray, congressmembers, Wray, Biden's, Biden Organizations: White, Washington , D.C, Directive, FBI, Taiwan, of Homeland Security, Infrastructure Security Agency Locations: Washington ,, China, Russia, Ukraine, U.S, Taiwan

☆ Opinion: Small-town water systems are global cyber targets. Is your city next?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Opinion Robert M. Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The town of Abernathy also reported a water system hack, and the towns of Lockney and Hale Center said hackers tried to breach their water infrastructure but did not succeed. Unlike how David was ready to take on Goliath, our most vulnerable critical infrastructure systems – including water infrastructure – are ill-prepared. The water attacks we’ve seen so far have not had serious consequences for the people they serve. According to the EPA, 90% of the nation’s community water systems are small, public systems bringing water to 10,000 or fewer customers. If we really want to help water utilities defend against cyber threats, we have to close the resource gap.

Persons: Robert M, Lee Dragos, David, we’ve, –, Iran –, Homeland Security’s Organizations: CNN, Cyber Army, Hale Center, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, FBI, Rehabilitation, Government, Department, Homeland, Infrastructure Security Agency, National Security Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Homeland, Local Locations: Russia, Texas, Muleshoe, Abernathy, Lockney, Aliquippa , Pennsylvania, United States, China, North Korea, Iran, Department of Homeland Security’s State

☆ China Could Threaten Critical Infrastructure in a Conflict, N.S.A. Chief Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

China has been trying to find ways to gain access to critical infrastructure in the United States so that it can threaten those systems in the event of a conflict, the National Security Agency director said on Wednesday. and the U.S. military’s Cyber Command in February, said that Beijing had stepped up its cyberefforts and that the United States, in response, was working harder to disrupt that activity. Last year, U.S. officials uncovered an effort by China to gain access to critical infrastructure in Guam, home to U.S. military bases, and in the continental United States. Microsoft called the intrusions Volt Typhoon, after a Chinese network of hackers who often avoided using detectable malware and instead used stealthier techniques to enter wastewater systems and communication networks. “What you see in Volt Typhoon is an example of how China has approached establishing access to put things under threat,” General Haugh said at a security conference at Vanderbilt University.

Persons: Timothy D, Haugh, ” Organizations: National Security Agency, U.S, military’s, Command, Microsoft, Vanderbilt University Locations: China, United States, Beijing, Guam

☆ Top House China hawk to retire, opening seat in battleground Wisconsin
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

His seat in Wisconsin's 8th congressional district is particularly valuable, given the state's battleground status and House Republicans' current rail-thin majority. Despite occasional resistance to his party, Gallagher is still an essential GOP vote representing a key swing state. Trump won Wisconsin in 2016 but lost it to President Joe Biden in 2020. In 2022, Gallagher won roughly 72% of the vote against several third-party candidates but no formal Democrat opponent. He was also appointed to the helm of the House's high-profile China committee, which was created at the start of last year.

Persons: Mike Gallagher, Gallagher, Alejandro Mayorkas, Donald Trump's, Trump, Joe Biden, Gallagher's, Kristin Lyerly, Christopher Wray Organizations: U.S, Capitol, Chinese Communist Party, Marine Corps, House Republicans, Homeland, Trump, Wisconsin, Badger, Democrat, Democratic, GOP, CCP Locations: Wisconsin's, Wisconsin, Washington, China

☆ Chinese Embassy in Netherlands Says China Would Never Allow Cyberattacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING (Reuters) -China would never allow any Chinese entities or individuals to conduct illegal activities such as cyberattacks or use Chinese facilities for such attacks, the Chinese embassy in the Netherlands said in a statement on Wednesday. The embassy was responding to a report by Dutch intelligence agencies that said Chinese state-backed cyber spies gained access to a Dutch military network last year. "China opposes any malicious speculation and groundless accusations, and advocates joint efforts to safeguard cybersecurity through dialogue and cooperation," an embassy spokesperson was quoted as saying in the statement. According to a Reuters report, the U.S. government in recent months launched an operation to fight a pervasive Chinese hacking operation that compromised thousands of internet-connected devices. The Netherlands embassy spokesperson said the "Chinese government has always resolutely opposed and cracked down on all forms of cyberattacks in accordance with the law."

Persons: Bernard Orr, Tom Hogue Locations: BEIJING, China, Netherlands, Dutch, Philippines, U.S

☆ Wray’s stunning warning points to a new age of US vulnerability
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“The CCP’s dangerous actions, China’s multi-pronged assault on our national and economic security, make it the defining threat of our generation,” Wray said. Xi promised Biden China wouldn’t interfere in the 2024 presidential election at that meeting, CNN reported exclusively this week. The high-level diplomatic contacts continued last week when national security adviser Jake Sullivan met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok. “This is the cyberspace equivalent of placing bombs on American bridges, water treatment facilities and power plants,” he said. “If you have a cyberattack on that sort of technology, it could affect all signals at once,” Geddes said.

Persons: Christopher Wray, Rick Geddes, ”, Wray, Xi, ” Wray, Joe Biden, Biden, Biden China wouldn’t, Jake Sullivan, Wang Yi, Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy, Mike Gallagher of, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Paul Nakasone, Gallagher, Geddes, ” Geddes Organizations: CNN, Cornell, Chinese Communist Party, Communist Party, CCP, South China, –, Capitol, Republican, Democrat, US Cyber Command, “ Locations: Washington, Beijing, United States, China, Taiwan, South, Xi Jinping’s China, California, Biden China, Bangkok, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, Illinois

☆ FBI shuts down China's 'Volt Typhoon' hackers targeting U.S. infrastructure
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Justice Department and FBI identified the attacks and shut down aspects of the Volt Typhoon malware, Wray said. Microsoft in May warned that Volt Typhoon hackers had been active since 2021 and were targeting U.S. cyber infrastructure. The hacks have become increasingly sophisticated, Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said at the hearing. She explained that Chinese hackers are able to "live within a computer's operating system" in a way that makes them difficult to identify. In July, Chinese hackers also compromised the email accounts of the U.S. ambassador to China and other officials.

Persons: Christopher Wray, Wray, they're, that's, Shou Zi Chew Organizations: FBI, Justice Department, Microsoft, Infrastructure Security Agency, Communist Party, NBC News, British Locations: China, U.S, London, Taiwan

☆ China Is Targeting U.S. Infrastructure and Could ‘Wreak Chaos,’ F.B.I. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Glenn Thrush | Adam Goldman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Christopher A. Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, warned on Wednesday that China was ramping up an extensive hacking operation geared at taking down the United States’ power grid, oil pipelines and water systems in the event of a conflict over Taiwan. Mr. Wray, appearing before a House subcommittee on China, offered an alarming assessment of the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts. Its intent is to sow confusion, sap the United States’ will to fight and hamper the American military from deploying resources if the dispute over Taiwan, a major flashpoint between the two superpowers, escalates into a war, he added. Before his testimony, F.B.I. “China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike,” said Mr. Wray, who pressed the committee to increase funding for the bureau.

Persons: Christopher A, Wray, ” Organizations: Federal Bureau of, Communist, Justice, Volt Typhoon Locations: China, United States, Taiwan, States, Beijing

☆ Pacific Islands Need to Boost Digital Security to Join Undersea Cable, Says US Official
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Kirsty NeedhamSYDNEY (Reuters) - Pacific Islands nations that want to connect to U.S.-funded undersea cables will need to secure their digital ecosystems to guard against data risks from China, a senior U.S. State Department official said. The United States pledged last year to jointly fund two undersea cables, to be built by Google, connecting the U.S. territory of Guam with hubs in Fiji and French Polynesia, and further branching out across remote Pacific Islands. The proposed intra-Pacific cable project has offered to branch out to Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tuvalu, Fiji, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Cook Islands, Wallis and Futuna and the Federated States of Micronesia. China and the U.S. are jostling for influence in the Pacific Islands with competing offers for infrastructure. The Solomon Islands, which struck a security pact with Beijing, is rolling out a Chinese-funded mobile network built by Chinese telecommunications company Huawei.

Persons: Kirsty Needham SYDNEY, Nathaniel Fick, Kirsty Needham, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Pacific, U.S . State Department, United, Google, Futuna, Federated, The U.S . Department of, Washington, Sydney, Huawei, Telstra, Microsoft, U.S Locations: U.S, China, Guam, Fiji, French Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tuvalu, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Cook Islands, Wallis, Federated States, Micronesia, The, Solomon, Beijing, Australia, Asia, Pacific

☆ Factbox: The Chinese groups accused of hacking the US and others
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

July 21 (Reuters) - Chinese hacking teams have been blamed by Western intelligence agencies and cybersecurity groups for digital intrusion campaigns across the world, targeting everything from government and military organisations to corporations and media groups. The Chinese authorities said it was not aware of such hacking and described the accusations as baseless. Palo Alto Networks, a U.S. cybersecurity firm, said its research showed BackdoorDiplomacy had links to the Chinese state and was part of the APT15 hacking group. The Chinese authorities have described such reports as "groundless accusations." APT 27Western intelligence agencies and cybersecurity researchers say Chinese hacking team APT 27 is sponsored by the state and has launched multiple attacks on Western and Taiwanese government agencies.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, China Nicholas Burns, Daniel Kritenbrink, BackdoorDiplomacy, TeamT5, Nancy Pelosi, Pelosi, Mandiant, Fanny Potkin, John Geddie, Jamie Freed Organizations: Microsoft, . Commerce, Wall, Storm, Reuters, Alto Networks, APT, U.S Department Justice, U.S, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, U.S, East Asia, Washington, Western, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, United States, Hong Kong

The names of the U.S. senator, the state senator and the state judge targeted were not disclosed. The disclosure by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) followed a secret court order reauthorizing the use of Section 702 - the part of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that allows the FBI to scour the vast troves of intelligence data for information that might be useful for its own investigations. Despite the missteps, the FBI was praised by the judge involved for doing "a better job" at curbing surveillance abuses. That skepticism only deepened when an earlier court order - declassified in May - revealed that the FBI had improperly searched for the foreign intelligence database more than a quarter million times over several years. Last year, an alleged Iranian agent was charged with trying to arrange the assassination of former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Chris Wray, John Bolton, Raphael Satter, Matthew Lewis Organizations: FBI, U.S, National Intelligence, U.S . Foreign Intelligence, Federal Bureau of, National Security Agency, U.S . House, Microsoft, U.S . National Security, Thomson Locations: U.S, Taiwan, United States, Asia, Washington

☆ 'Aggressive' China cyberattacks are the 'defining threat' of our time, top U.S. cyber official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, testifies before a House Homeland Security Subcommittee, at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., April 28, 2022. China's cyber-espionage and sabotage capacities are an "epoch-defining threat," the top U.S. cybersecurity official said, warning that in the event of open warfare "aggressive cyber operations" would threaten critical U.S. transportation infrastructure "to induce societal panic." "We, as an American people, need to understand not just cyber resilience but the imperative of operational resilience and the importance of societal resilience," the CISA director said. Chinese cyber infiltration and espionage have been an ongoing concern for American companies. A disruption of critical pipelines, communications infrastructure, or transportation services could cripple the U.S. economy in the case of conflict.

Persons: Jen Organizations: Infrastructure Security Agency, Homeland Security, Washington , D.C, China's, Infrastructure Security, Aspen Institute, Microsoft, U.S, Corporate, U.S ., Colonial Pipeline Locations: Rayburn, Washington ,, U.S, China, Asia, East

WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuters) - Chinese hackers are all but certain to disrupt American critical infrastructure, such as pipelines and railways, in the event of a conflict with the United States, a senior U.S. cybersecurity official said Monday. In comments made during an appearance at the Aspen Institute in Washington, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly said Beijing was making major investments in the capability to sabotage U.S. infrastructure. She cautioned that Americans needed to be prepared for the likelihood that Beijing's hackers would dodge their defenses and cause damage in the physical world. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request seeking a reaction to the warning. Reporting by Raphael Satter; Editing by Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jen, Raphael Satter, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Aspen Institute, Infrastructure Security, Embassy, U.S, Thomson Locations: United States, U.S, Washington, Cybersecurity, Beijing

☆ Chinese state-sponsored hackers infiltrated U.S. naval infrastructure, secretary of the Navy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Navy has been hit by the Chinese state-sponsored hack that Microsoft disclosed Wednesday, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro told CNBC's Morgan Brennan on Thursday. The warnings alerted corporate and public enterprises that a sophisticated Chinese state-backed hacking group had successfully exploited a vulnerability in a popular cybersecurity suite. The vulnerability, which was exploited by a group codenamed "Volt Typhoon," affects critical cyber infrastructure across a range of industries, Microsoft said Wednesday. The company said the Chinese hackers had targeted communications and maritime sectors in Guam, which is home to a key U.S. military base. The Chinese Foreign Ministry and state-controlled press dismissed the findings from Microsoft and the intelligence community as "disinformation."

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