China Had Persistent Access to US and Allied Networks for Years: White House Official

Hackers in communist China maintained persistent access to U.S. and allied systems for multiple years, a Biden administration official has said. The cyber campaign appears to be part of a wider effort by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to prepare attacks on critical infrastructure, according to Israel Soong, director for East Asia and Pacific Cyber Policy at the National Security Council. In the event of a conflict, China intended to use its cyber access to “cripple” critical systems, including power grids and communications platforms, Mr. Soong said during a July 16 speech at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank. Mr. Soong’s comments appeared to reference a malicious cyber campaign acknowledged by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in February. A CISA statement at the time said that CCP-backed hackers were “seeking to pre-position themselves on IT networks for disruptive or destructive cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure.”...