National cyber director warns of ransomware, Chinese infrastructure attacks and cyber supply chain concerns

Jonathan Greig reports:

One of the top cybersecurity officials in the U.S. said Wednesday that he was especially concerned with Chinese infiltration of the country’s critical infrastructure, as well as software supply chain risks and the continued expansion of ransomware.

Although there have been several recent disclosures about Beijing-linked hacking campaigns, National Cyber Director Harry Coker led with concerns about Volt Typhoon, a Chinese cyber operation to embed backdoors in U.S. critical infrastructure and potentially take destructive action in the event of an invasion of Taiwan.

“Nations spy — it’s a fact of life, we have to deal with that. This is not about traditional espionage. It is not about financial gain. It is about the ability to disable and destroy America’s ability to mobilize if the current competitive phase transitions into crisis, and then, even worse, conflict,” he said.