March 30 (UPI) — The commander of the United States Cyber Command told a House subcommittee Thursday that China remains the biggest strategic threat to the United States.
Citing China’s state-sponsored cyber actors, Gen. Paul Nakasone told the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies and Innovation that the threat is growing and has global implications.
“The [People’s Republic of China] combines authoritarianism with a revisionist foreign policy and stands as the only competitor with both the intent and power to reshape the global order to its advantage,” Nakasone said. “Competition with the PRC takes place on a global scale, and although that contest remains below the threshold of armed conflict, it is nonetheless strategic in its effects and its implications.”
Cybersecurity and China have been hot-button topics lately in the United States, especially in the wake of this year’s China surveillance balloons and particularly with regards to Tik-Tok and fears that the app can spy on American users. The app’s CEO Shou Zi Chew has repeatedly tried to downplay concerns about influence operations from China, saying that his company would not allow such a thing. U.S. lawmakers, though, remain skeptical.
On Thursday Nakasone also expressed concerns over the app.
“If you consider that there’s a 150 million people everyday touching this app, this provides a foreign nation with a platform for information operations, a platform for surveillance,” Nakasone said. “Certainly, this is a piece that our nation has to consider.”
John Plumb, the assistant Secretary of Defense for space policy, also told the committee Thursday that the nation’s top threat is being driven by Beijing. He specifically mentioned China’s state-sponsored cyber actors who had stolen information in at least six states during 2022.
“Hackers linked to the PRC government have stolen COVID-relief funds, conducted ransomware attacks, and collected private information and data about American citizens to benefit their espionage efforts,” Plumb said.
While not as threatening as China, Plumb and Nakasone also said that Russia presents a challenge at the moment.
“Russia has attempted to influence elections, through malign activities, in the United States and Europe, and has enabled intelligence collection on a global scale,” Nakasone said. “Moscow has a high tolerance for risk and collateral damage in its cyber operations.”