“There has been far too little public focus on the fact that PRC hackers are targeting our critical infrastructure, our water treatment plants, our electrical grid, our oil and natural gas pipelines, our transportation systems, and the risk that poses to every American requires our attention now.”

The preceding was the sobering statement of FBI Director Christopher Wray, made before Congress in January of 2024.

On April 17 and 18 of this year, Vanderbilt University held its third annual Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats.

The event brought together globally recognized leaders and experts in military, intelligence, industry, and academia to share insights on cyber conflict, artificial intelligence, and emerging threats.

FBI Director Wray closed the summit, echoing many of the sobering sentiments that he shared before the House Select Committee on The CCP (Communist Chinese Party) Cyber Threat to the American Homeland and National Security hearing in January 2024.

Because the issue of nation-state-sponsored cyber threat actors is a clear and present danger to the United States government and her allies, the echo was both apropos and worth repeating.

We are in a cyber war with real seen and unseen enemies, and the actions taken by Chinese state-sponsored threat actors should not only cause us alarm but call us as a nation to action.

“China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities if and when China decides the time has come to strike,” Wray stated during his testimony before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in January.

“They’re not focused just on political and military targets. We can see from where they position themselves across civilian infrastructure that low blows aren’t just a possibility in the event of a conflict. Low blows against civilians are part of China’s plan.”

Fast-forward to April of this year, and we find Director Wray painting a clear picture of the vast size of the threat — the same picture he presented to Congress and the American public earlier this year.

“To give you a sense of the scale of China’s cyber activity: if you took all of the FBI cyber agents and cyber intelligence analysts and focused them exclusively on China- so forget ransomware, forget Iran, forget Russia -Chinese hackers would still outnumber FBI cyber personnel by at least 50 to 1.”

It must be stated that the People’s Republic of China state-sponsored cyber actor Volt Typhoon’s intention was not only to breach our routers, destabilize our businesses, and disrupt our critical infrastructure.

It’s widely reported that the PRC and the Chinese Communist Party desire to replace the U.S. as the world’s largest superpower by 2049.

Volt Typhoon’s activity was only one small piece in a very large puzzle.

The China Dream, authored by People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Col. Liu Mingfu, outlines a strategy for China to replace the United States as the world’s premier superpower, and by all accounts, the PRC is walking it out.

It has also been reported that Chinese author Zhao Tingyang published an essay titled “The All-Under-Heaven System” in 2005.

The essay, which purportedly gained popularity in China, called for the establishment of “Tianxia,” a Chinese-led empire that “values order over freedom, ethics over law, and elite governance over democracy and human rights.”

According to the PRC’s doctrine, in order for the PRC to rise, the United States must fall.

Along with their 2027 target to unify with Taiwan, whether peacefully or through military force, their goal is to ultimately upend U.S. democracy and our very way of life to make way for the aspirations for global domination.

Volt Typhoon’s cyber breach on our nation’s critical infrastructure is a clarion call for each of us to defend our nation against all enemies- foreign and domestic.W

ith enemies actively prepositioning assets within our borders- in cyberspace and otherwise – with a goal to defeat us by any means necessary, we must each guard the gates.

Each of us is a link, a portal, and a doorway to an account, a network, and our nation that we must guard with militaristic vigilance.

Because this enemy’s modus operandi is to incite fear and destroy confidence, we must give no room to fear.

Instead, armed with knowledge from their playbooks and their revealed positions, we must forge a defense to guard against it.

I will close with this very grave statement from FBI Director Wray, “I do not want those watching today to think we can’t protect ourselves, but I do want the American people to know that we cannot afford to sleep on this danger.

“As a government and a society, we’ve got to remain vigilant and actively defend against the threat that Beijing poses. Otherwise, China has shown it will make us pay.”

Wake up, America!

V. Venesulia Carr is a former United States Marine, CEO of Vicar Group, LLC and host of “Down to Business with V.,” a television show focused on cyberawareness and cybersafety. She is a speaker, consultant and news commentator providing insight on technology, cybersecurity, fraud mitigation, national security and military affairs. Read more of her reports — Here.

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