Members of the House Homeland Security Committee are probing the intelligence community to provide updated information on the cyber threat China poses to the United States in the wake of reports that claim the PRC breached major phone and broadband companies.
Earlier this month, a report from the Wall Street Journal says Chinese government hackers may have accessed the wiretapping systems of AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen.
In a letter sent last week, Committee Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee Chair Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., are calling on the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to update Congress on “trends and U.S. efforts to defend against PRC-affiliated cyber actors” by Nov. 1.
If reporting on China’s level of network access to the U.S. is accurate, the congressmen said, “the PRC could influence communications by rerouting internet traffic, or gain valuable information by accessing systems for lawful wiretapping requests.”
“In other words, this intrusion would significantly jeopardize Americans’ right to privacy and broader U.S. national security interests,” they wrote.
In the letter to the FBI and CISA leaders, the congressmen said they are “extremely concerned” about what this latest intrusion by China may mean for the nation’s cyber resiliency.
“As America’s cyber defense agency, we expect CISA to continue playing a pivotal role in educating Americans about cyber risks,” the letter reads. “Additionally, we urge CISA to conduct more direct outreach to our critical infrastructure owners and operators to ensure they are prepared to identify and thwart malicious activity in their networks and infrastructure.”
The congressmen said they are “encouraged” that CISA is participating in a new emergency team to address the recent hack but emphasized that “clearly a temporary measure will not suffice.”
“PRC-backed threats against Western nations primarily aimed at intelligence collection show no sign of waning,” the congressmen concluded. “We believe it is necessary for the Committee to receive an updated assessment of trends and U.S. efforts to defend against PRC-affiliated cyber actors.”
