The paper says Chinese hackers are invading “essential services” in the US

Hackers linked to China’s military breached the computer systems of about 20 US facilities in 2022, according to a newspaper report. The Washington Post Published this Monday (December 11, 2023). Compromised services include water utilities in Hawaii, ports along the nation’s west coast, and oil and gas pipeline systems.

According to US officials, the online intrusions are part of a larger effort “causing panic, confusion or disrupting logistics in a potential conflict” Between America and China in the Pacific.

Hackers tried to break into the operator of Texas’ power grid, which operates independently from the rest of the country. Also, sources The Washington Post Several foreign companies, including electric utility companies, have been targeted by the attack, it said.

U.S. officials said none of the intrusions affected pumps or industrial control systems responsible for critical operations, and caused no disruptions.

However, it warned that the attacks, along with Hawaii, where the Pacific Fleet is based and at least one port, along with logistics hubs, would signal an intention to make it difficult to send troops and equipment to the region. Conflict over Taiwan.

The operation, allegedly carried out by the Chinese military, is part of a cyber campaign called Typhoon Volt that was identified by the US government about a year ago.

“It is very clear that Chinese efforts to compromise critical infrastructure are aimed at prepositioning themselves to disrupt or destroy that critical infrastructure in the event of a conflict.”, said Brandon Wales, Executive Director of CISA (Cyber ​​Security and Infrastructure Agency, in Portuguese). The agency is part of the US Department of Homeland Security.

“This marks a significant shift from Chinese cyber operations 7 to 10 years ago, which focused primarily on political and economic intelligence.”he said.

According to US sources, the topic of Chinese cyber intrusions into critical US infrastructure was on the agenda of a meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in November. The Washington Post. However, it was not discussed during the meeting which lasted for about 4 hours.