- The head of the FBI has vowed to thwart China’s efforts to threaten US security.
- The scale of the threat is now greater than ever, the FBI director claims.
- This is a complete distortion of the facts, says the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Christopher Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), accused China of planting malware in computer networks in an attempt to compromise vital infrastructure in the United States.
According to a recent report by the author First announcementWray said the scale of the threat is greater now than ever before and that the organization is “laser focused” on thwarting China’s efforts, which have the potential to threaten US national security.
“We’re laser-focused on this as a real threat and we’re working with a lot of partners to try to identify, predict and disrupt it,” Wray said, speaking at the Munich Security Conference where officials gathered to discuss ideas related to the conflict in Ukraine and in the Middle East.
“I understand what we’re dealing with with sobriety and clarity. We’re going to have to be kind of quick on our feet all the time,” he continued.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning responded to Wray’s comments by saying that China firmly opposes and takes legal action against all forms of cyber attacks.
She added that the US Cyber Command has openly stated that the critical infrastructure of other countries is a legitimate target of US cyber attacks.
She said: “It is grossly irresponsible and a complete distortion of the facts.”
On Monday, Mao also said that since last year, Chinese cyber security agencies have released reports revealing the US government’s long-running cyber attacks on Beijing’s critical infrastructure.
According to a security report by 360 Security Group, the National Security Agency (NSA) has been conducting covert hacking operations against top Chinese companies for more than 10 years, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is actively involved in espionage and intelligence theft.