The FBI has warned China is the “defining threat of our generation,” with hackers ready to “wreak havoc” in the US. FBI Director Christopher Wray has said the national security threats in the US are “more complex and sophisticated than ever” as he claimed China is “becoming more aggressive in their efforts to steal our secrets.”
During a speech delivered to the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security on Tuesday, the FBI chief warned China is the “defining threat of our generation.”
He said: “Today’s national security threats are more complex and sophisticated than ever. We’re seeing hostile nation-states becoming more aggressive in their efforts to steal our secrets and our innovation, target our critical infrastructure, and export their repression to our shores.
“Front and center is China—the defining threat of our generation. To put it simply, the CCP [Communist Party of China] is throwing its whole government at undermining the security and economy of the rule-of-law world.”
Mr Wray warned officials that “China’s hacking program is larger than that of every other major nation combined.”
“If each one of the FBI’s cyber agents and intelligence analysts focused exclusively on the China threat, China’s hackers would still outnumber FBI cyber personnel by at least 50 to 1”, he added.
In the alarming speech, the FBI claimed China is engaging in “traditional espionage and economic espionage, foreign malign influence, election interference, and transnational repression—often working in tandem.”
Worryingly, Mr Wray revealed China is recruiting human sources to “target our business using insiders to steal the same kinds of innovation and data their hackers are targeting.”
He added: “They’re engaging in corporate deception—hiding Beijing’s hand in transactions, joint ventures, and investments—all with the same goal. They’re exporting their repression efforts and human rights abuses—targeting, threatening, and harassing those who dare question their legitimacy or authority even outside China, including right here in the U.S.”
