Chinese hackers are “pre-positioning” to engage in a global cyber war by attacking crucial network and security infrastructure, according to three major intelligence agencies.
Concern is growing over China’s potential plans to unleash the full force of its Internet wizzes to deliver devastating attacks on communications, energy and water systems in the United States.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the National Security Agency and the FBI this week issued a warning about potential cyberattacks originating from China.
The statement was a joint advisory released by members of the Five Eyes intelligence network – the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
They expressed particular concern for a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group known as Volt Typhoon.
For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to Daily Express US
The agencies said the group’s tactics had allowed for “long-term undiscovered persistence.”
They added: “In fact, the US authoring agencies have recently observed indications of Volt Typhoon actors maintaining access and footholds within some victim IT environments for at least five years.”
“The US authoring agencies are concerned about the potential for these actors to use their network access for disruptive effects in the event of potential geopolitical tensions and/or military conflicts
But a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected the allegations and accused the Five Eyes alliance of “smearing and attacking China without any evidence.”
Wang Wenbin said: “The Five Eyes alliance needs to know that falsely accusing China will not hide the fact that the Five Eyes alliance is the largest global intelligence agency and the US is the No. 1 hacking state in the world.
“We keep a firm stance against all forms of cyberattacks and resort to lawful methods in tackling them.
“Let’s stay tuned and see what else is in the alliance’s play script of spreading disinformation on ‘Chinese cyberattacks.'”
