The FBI shut down a major China-backed hacking group that attacked hundreds of routers and had been working to compromise U.S. cyber infrastructure, FBI Director Christopher Wray announced Wednesday at a House committee hearing.
The hacking group, code-named “Volt Typhoon,” had compromised hundreds of office and home-office routers to allow the Chinese government to access their data, Wray told the committee. He said the routers were outdated, which made them “easy targets.”
The Justice Department and FBI identified the attacks and shut down aspects of the Volt Typhoon malware, the FBI said.
The hackers had been targeting U.S. water treatment plants, the power grid, oil and natural gas pipelines, and transportation systems, he added.
“Today, and literally every day, they’re actively attacking our economic security, engaging in wholesale theft of our innovation, and our personal and corporate data,” he said.
Microsoft in May warned that Volt Typhoon hackers were targeting U.S. cyber infrastructure and urged impacted customers to change their security details.
Wray’s comments add to a slew of warnings about the threat of China to U.S. cybersecurity.
In July, Chinese hackers also compromised the email accounts of the U.S. ambassador to China and other officials.
Wray himself has been ringing alarm bells on China for years. In February 2022, he told NBC News that he was shocked to learn how widespread Chinese spying had become when he became FBI director. Later that year, he joined British officials in London to issue another warning about Chinese national security threats, including the country’s intention to invade the self-governing island of Taiwan.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.