Chinese hackers have secretly accessed U.S. and allied systems for years, aiming to disrupt critical infrastructure like power grids and communication networks, according to a Biden administration official. This ongoing cyber campaign, revealed by the National Security Council, is part of China’s broader strategy to undermine global systems and gain a strategic edge. Despite recent efforts to remove malicious malware from government systems, the threat remains, as Chinese state-backed hackers continue to target vital infrastructure worldwide, preparing for potential sabotage in case of a major conflict.

According to a Biden administration official, hackers in communist China were able to access American and allied computers continuously for several years.

Director of East Asia and Pacific Cyber Strategy at the National Security Council Israel Soong said the cyber campaign looks to be a part of a larger effort by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to plan assaults on key infrastructure reports  Andrew Thornebrooke from The Epoch Times.

During a July 16 address at the conservative think tank Hudson Institute, Mr. Soong stated that China planned to utilize its cyber access to “cripple” essential infrastructure, such as power grids and communications platforms, in the event of a conflict.

According to Mr. Soong’s remarks, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirmed a malevolent cyber effort in February. Hackers with support from the CCP were allegedly “seeking to pre-position themselves on IT networks for disruptive or destructive cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure,” according to a CISA statement at the time.

Congress was informed in February by intelligence chiefs that while the malware was eliminated from 600 government systems after the intrusion was discovered in December 2023, the threat remained in other infrastructure systems operated by private enterprises.

Many were unaware, according to Mr. Soong, that comparable initiatives had been directed toward many countries worldwide.

“What is public but is less well known is that the PRC has been doing the same propositioning to many other countries around the globe, including some who are our allies,” Mr. Soong said, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China.

For years on end, he claimed, the Chinese government could “persistently and aggressively maintain this cyber access.”

According to Mr. Soong, the CCP made significant investments in cyber capabilities as part of a national policy to “actively and intentionally dominate these areas in a strategic way.”

To better align the goals of the Chinese Communist Party with the US-led world order, he stated, “Beijing sees cyber and emerging technology as critical to the strategy.”

Although the CCP’s preparations for critical infrastructure sabotage are concerning, Mr. Soong stated that they are unlikely to be used as leverage unless there is a significant confrontation between China and the US. This is because an attack on US infrastructure that claims American lives would be regarded as an outright attack, he said.

The remarks come after multiple reports earlier this year from Dutch intelligence agencies revealing that over 20,000 systems across numerous Western governments, international organizations, and defense industry companies had been compromised by state-sponsored hackers in China.

According to a Dutch statement, the COATHANGER campaign gave Chinese hackers “permanent access” to important systems. Additionally, last month Dutch intelligence verified that “it is likely that the state actor still has access to systems of a significant number of victims at the moment.”

Thus, the hackers are still able to get unauthorized access to important Western government institutions.

As of right now, it’s unclear if COATHANGER was created exclusively for espionage or as a component of the larger CCP initiative to get vital systems in other countries ready for disruption.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines stated in a May speech to Congress that the majority of cyberattacks launched by China against the United States target industrial control systems, health care systems, defense, energy, transportation, and supplies of food and water.

The vast cybercrime apparatus of the Chinese state has been difficult for the governments of the United States and its allies to successfully combat, in part due to a far smaller pool of highly employable cybersecurity experts.

The CCP was “sparing no expense in its attempt to hack, lie, cheat, and steal its way to the top as a global superpower,” according to testimony given by FBI Director Christopher Wray in April.

He claimed that Chinese state-sponsored hackers “outnumber FBI cyber personnel at least 50 to 1.”

Last month, GreatGameInternational reported that the Dutch National Cyber Security Center revealed that the COATHANGER cyber campaign, linked to China, breached 20,000 defense and government systems across Western countries.