CISA Director Jen Easterly claims that China's cyberattacks are an "epoch-defining threat."
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly testifies before a House Homeland Security Subcommittee, at the Rayburn House Office Building on April 28, 2022 in Washington, DC. Easterly testifies on the fiscal year 2023 budget request for CISA.
The U.S. top official explained that the sabotage and cyber-espionage capacities of the Asian country should be taken seriously.
She shared her insights during an event at the Aspen Institute in Washington D.C. on Monday, June 12.
"I think this is the real threat that we need to be prepared for," said Easterly via CNBC.
CISA Director Claims China Cyberattacks are 'Epoch-Defining Threat'
According to Reuters' latest report, Easterly believes that China has been making major investments in its capability to sabotage U.S. infrastructure.
In this file photo taken on August 04, 2020, Prince, a member of the hacking group Red Hacker Alliance who refused to give his real name, uses a website that monitors global cyberattacks on his computer at their office in Dongguan, China's southern Guangdong province. - As the number of online devices surges and super-fast 5G connections roll out.
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The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency top official explained that Chinese cyberattacks would drastically affect the US in the event of open warfare.
Jen further stated that aggressive cyber operations of China could threaten critical US 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," said Easterly.
Her latest warning about the alarming cyberattacks of China came as the geopolitical tensions between Beijing and the United States intensified.
Hackers Backed by China Allegedly Spying US
Some authorities in the United States, New Zealand, the U.K., Canada, and Australia, claim that a state-sponsored Chinese hacking group has been spying on US critical infrastructure.
Officials of the "Five Eyes" intelligence network warned that these Chinese malicious actors could be doing malicious activities in other parts of the globe as well.
They are referring to the Volt Typhoon hacking group, which is believed to have been active ever since mid-2021.
What makes Volt Typhoon alarming is that it is considered to be one of the biggest known cyber-espionage campaigns conducted against critical infrastructure in the United States.
Microsoft said that the Volt Typhoon hacking group is focusing on developing cyberattack capabilities that can drastically disrupt important communications infrastructure between the Asia region and the US.
If you want to learn more about the Volt Typhoon hacking union, you can visit this link.
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