Don’t look now, but China is preparing to hack America’s energy, health care, finance, and transportation systems.
Technology
This advance warning comes from NSA official Rob Joyce, who told guests at a Wall Street Journal security conference this week that not only was China behind the recent hacking of the Marriott/Starwood Hotels chain, but they are now “prepositioning” themselves to attack “critical infrastructure” inside the US.
“You worry they are prepositioning against critical infrastructure and trying to be able to do the types of disruptive operations that would be the most concern,” Joyce told security officials.
So, why exactly would China want to hack the United States? The answer is somewhat easy. Chinese officials and the US have been engaged in a bitter trade war of late and they are said to not be impressed with Donald Trump’s “Big, Bad Wolf” act. Additionally, the arrest of the Huawei Corporation’s CFO hasn’t helped diplomatic relations between the 2 nations.
The US has been spying on and hacking Asia for years, so a bit of turn around is fair play. However, China appears to be going for the jugular vein here, as any disruption in the US health, economic, and transportation systems could be crippling.
China has routinely denied conducting any hacking attempts, and are remaining steadfast with that denial today. In the words of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang: “China firmly opposes all forms of cyberattack and cracks down on it in accordance with the law.”
Imagine waking up to a world where your ATM or credit card doesn’t work, your medical history is suddenly inaccessible, or your public transportation cards are all of a sudden ineffective.
Is the Asian nation about to send a stark message to Donald Trump, the so-called “leader of the free world?”
