The U.S. power grid and other crucial infrastructures have been
penetrated by the Chinese and other governments, posing a serious
threat to shut down the systems and create chaos through
cyberattacks.
Adm. Michael Rogers, head of both the National Security Agency (NSA)
and the U.S. Cyber Command, a military arm charged with dealing with
cyberwarfare, told the House Intelligence Committee that the U.S. is
vulnerable to such attacks, which could shut down utilities, fuel
and water delivery, aviation, banking and other computer-based
systems,
CNN reports.
"It is only a matter of the when, not the if, that we are going to
see something traumatic," he told the committee.
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A report from cybersecurity firm Mandiant notes that a shadowy
hacker operation that it calls APT1 has been infiltrating U.S.
business and government sites.
Mandiant believes
APT1 to be the 2nd Bureau of the People's Liberation
Army, operating out of Shanghai, and has "systematically stolen
hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations."
Rogers told the committee that by infiltrating systems, the hackers
leave behind malware which "enables (them) to shut down very
segmented, very tailored parts of our
infrastructure that forestall the ability to provide that service to
us as citizens," CNN reports.
He noted that there are "probably one or two" other countries with
the same capabilities, but declined to name them. However,
cybersecurity experts have identified Russia as another threat.
"We see them (Chinese) attempting to steal information on how our
systems are configured, the very schematics of most of our control
systems, down to engineering level of detail so they can look at
where are the vulnerabilities, how are they constructed, how could I
get in and defeat them," Rogers told the committee, CNN reported.
"We're seeing multiple nation-states invest in those kinds of
capabilities."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman
Hong Lei denied to Reuters that the Chinese
government is involved in hacking operations.
In a recent
survey of computer security experts by the Pew
Internet and American Life Project, many of those experts noted that
the U.S. can expect to see such an attack on its systems before
2025.
Joel Brenner, former NSA counsel, told
The Washington Post, "Every expert I know
believes our electricity grid has been penetrated by Russia and
China. Our military correctly assumes these penetrations would
enable future attacks and disruptions."
Rogers told the committee that criminal gangs, mostly Russian, also
are believed to be working as surrogates for nation states, using
sophisticated computer capabilities to "obscure, if you will, their
(nation-states) finger prints."
In effect, the gangs are operating as "cyber hit men for hire,"
committee chair Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Michigan, said,
The Wall Street Journal reported.
Rogers, the Post reported, told the committee, "I fully expect that
during my time as a commander, we are going to be
tasked with defending critical infrastructure
in the United States.
Referring to the Pew report, he said, "I bet it happens before
2025."
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