The US is looking for malware embedded by China deep inside its power grids, communication systems, and water supplies, which are prone to disruption at time of conflict.
The Malware
According to a report published by The New York Times (NYT) on Saturday, the code’s discovery has fanned fears that Chinese hackers, probably affiliated to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), “have inserted code designed to disrupt US military operations in the event of a conflict, including if Beijing moves against Taiwan in coming years.”
A congressional official cited by the publication said the malware was “a ticking time bomb” that could “give China the power to interrupt or slow American military deployments or resupply operations by cutting off power, water and communications to US military bases.”
Its impact could also be further reaching, “because that same infrastructure often supplies the houses and businesses of ordinary Americans.”
The first public indication of the secret code’s existence came in late May, when Microsoft said it had detected a mysterious computer code in telecommunications systems in Guam, which is home to a large American air base, as well as elsewhere in the US.
Since then, several US officials and industry experts have confirmed in interviews that the Chinese effort goes far beyond telecommunications systems and predated information in the May report by at least a year.
Moreover, they anonymously divulged that the US government’s effort to find and eradicate the code has been underway for a while.
The Biden administration believes China has implanted malware in key US power & communications networks in a 'ticking time bomb' that could disrupt the military in event of a conflict, notably if Beijing were to move against Taiwan, the NYTimes reports ⤵️https://t.co/hfFaNxi9qH pic.twitter.com/lVjMitsobD
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 29, 2023
Officials acknowledge that they are not yet aware of the full extent of the code’s presence in networks around the world, partly because it is “so well hidden.”
So far, investigations show that the Chinese effort is more widespread — in the US and at American facilities abroad — than they had initially imagined.
US Comments
Adam R. Hodge, the acting spokesperson for the National Security Council, said in a statement that the Biden administration was “working relentlessly” to defend the US “from any disruptions to [its] critical infrastructure, including by coordinating interagency efforts to protect water systems, pipelines, rail and aviation systems, among others.”
“The president has also mandated rigorous cybersecurity practices for the first time,” he added.
Chinese Response
In a statement on Saturday, the Chinese embassy in Washington denied that it engages in hacking, and accused the US of being a far larger offender.
“We have always firmly opposed and cracked down on all forms of cyberattacking in accordance with the law. The Chinese government agencies face numerous cyberattacks every day, most of which come from sources in the US,” Haoming Ouyang, an embassy spokesperson wrote, adding: “We hope relevant parties will stop smearing China with groundless accusations.”