(NewsReady.com) – The Chinese government is known for its support of hacking groups. Those hackers have targeted infrastructure in the US. Now, they are also reportedly targeting American military bases.
According to a report in Newsweek, a source in NATO warned the Chinese Communist Party has hackers that have “invaded computer systems” at military bases in the Asia-Pacific. The source claimed the bad actors are “able to sabotage […] military installations on Guam or any of the [US] bases in Southeast Asia.” The actions are being described as “pre-positioning” by the Chinese government across critical infrastructure in the region. In other words, the nation is placing equipment (like malware) and/or soldiers in areas that would help the CCP meet its strategic goals.
In this case, the government is allegedly trying to handicap the United States in the event that it decides to go to war or has some other sort of conflict. Chinese President Xi Jinping is in the middle of building up his military forces. He has also made it clear that he believes Taiwan belongs to China and has repeatedly threatened to force the island’s government to unite with his.
In recent days, the Department of Justice has announced it has put an end to a massive cyberhacking ring targeting the routers, internet-connected security cameras, and modems of Americans across the US. The criminals were able to exploit unsecured, older routers that people have in their homes.
The FBI claimed the Chinese government was attempting to target critical infrastructure on the US mainland. The hacking group, known as Volt Typhoon, was allegedly targeting internet service providers, utilities, and naval ports.
According to a source who spoke to Reuters, the Chinese are taking control of cameras and modems next to critical infrastructure sites like a port, then using that to “route their intrusions into the real target.”
This activity also comes as China has sought to purchase land around the US close to American military bases. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have raised alarms about the dangers of those purchases.
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