FBI Director admits 'Chinese cyber threat is unparalleled'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
28 Apr 2023 08:23

FBI Director Christopher Wray admits that the United States is grappling to keep pace with China in the cyber field.

FBI Director Christopher Wray (The Hill)

FBI Director Christopher Wray highlighted on Thursday that Chinese hackers outnumber US cybersecurity agents by at least "50 to 1," pointing out that Beijing operates a larger cyber program than all other world powers combined.

Speaking to US lawmakers during a House Appropriations Committee hearing, Wray touched on the FBI's recent cybersecurity efforts and funding needs, warning that the hackers are capable of imposing "greater damage than ever before."

"The scale of the Chinese cyber threat is unparalleled. They’ve got a bigger hacking program than every other major nation combined, and have stolen more of our personal and corporate data than all other nations, big or small, combined,” the FBI Director claimed.

He admitted that the United States is grappling to keep pace with China in the cyber field.

"To give you a sense of what we’re up against, if each one of the FBI’s cyber agents and intel analysts focused exclusively on the China threat, on nothing but China, Chinese hackers would still outnumber FBI cyber personnel by at least 50 to 1," he explained.

The FBI Director also warned of cyberattacks carried out by other countries such as Russia, Iran, and the DPRK, but said that China posed the greatest danger to US privacy and security, referring to Beijing's alleged "multi-pronged strategy" to overshadow the US as "the global superpower."

Wray asked for funding to open around 200 additional cyber positions to address the "Chinese cyber threat," requesting just over $63 million besides the $10.8 billion budget proposed for the 2023 fiscal year.

"There's no country that presents a more significant threat to our innovation, our ideas, our economic security, our national security than the Chinese government," Wray highlighted.

"And that's why we've grown the number of investigations into threats from China about 1,300%," he said.

It is noteworthy that Beijing officials have denied hacking and data theft allegations, accusing Washington of similar charges.

Earlier this month, China's Foreign Ministry underlined that the US is now the "biggest threat to global cybersecurity" that attempts to "maintain its hegemony in cyberspace," calling on Washington to stop its "global hacking operations."