On Thursday, FBI director Christopher Wray said that cyberattacks by Chinese hackers are reaching a “fever pitch.” Wray made the remarks while he was in Germany, attending the Munich Security Conference.
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FBI chief Christopher Wray says Chinese cyberattacks are becoming a serious problem.”It’s reached something closer to a fever pitch,” he told leaders at the Munich Security Conference.Wray told Congress in January that China’s hackers outnumber FBI cyber agents by at least 50 to 1.
Cyberattacks that Chinese hackers orchestrate on the US are reaching a “fever pitch,” says FBI director Christopher Wray.
Wray was speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Thursday, where he flagged the massive cyber threat posed by China.
“In fact, China-sponsored hackers pre-positioned for potential cyberattacks against US oil and natural gas companies way back in 2011,” Wray said in his remarks. “But these days, it’s reached something closer to a fever pitch.”
In his speech, Wray said the Chinese were using stolen AI technology “to improve its hacking operations, including to steal yet more AI tech and data.”
Last month, Wray told Congress that the US needed to invest in its cyber capabilities to manage the Chinese cyber threat better. China’s hacking program, Wray said, was bigger than 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,” Wray told lawmakers.
The US isn’t the only country that has warned about China’s hacking prowess. In July, MI6 chief Richard Moore said China was a key concern for his agency.
“We now devote more resources to China than any other mission,” Moore told Politico’s Anne McElvoy. “That reflects China’s importance in the world and the crucial need to understand both the intent and capability of the Chinese government,”