The report is one of the first public indications that Chinese hackers have had years of access to U.S. infrastructure.

Chinese hackers have at times secretly hidden in U.S. infrastructure for up to five years, ready to conduct a potentially destructive cyberattack if the two countries were to go to war, federal agencies said Wednesday.

The claim was published in a public cybersecurity warning, one of the largest and starkest of its kind, from six U.S. agencies, as well as allied cybersecurity and intelligence agencies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K.

Over the past year, U.S. officials have repeatedly issued warnings that hackers working for China’s intelligence services keep gaining stealthy access to U.S. infrastructure. They feared such access could turn into a destructive cyberattack in the event of a major conflict, like China invading Taiwan, as the U.S. has said it would come to Taiwan’s aid.

  • Thekingoflorda@lemmy.worldM
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    19
    ·
    9 months ago

    I’m about 99% sure the US does exactly the same. Nowadays hacking is a serious tool of war that you can’t ignore.

    • ares35@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      9 months ago

      it’s a lot easier for them to hide among us, here, than it is the other way around, though.

      • books@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        9 months ago

        Possibly but they also have the Chernobyl problem where everyone passes the buck or dodges responsibility for fear of blame being pinned on them.

        So it’s possible that it might be noticed but never reported.