President Trump signals a renewed effort to counter the CCP
As President Trump prepares to begin a second term following his recent electoral victory, his early appointments have sent a clear signal that one of his administration’s biggest policy priorities will be countering the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party. His early nomination of Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Representative Mike Waltz as national security advisor puts two staunch China hawks in key positions to develop a comprehensive strategy to shore up America’s efforts to combat the CCP. Recent reports about ongoing attacks on American infrastructure highlight how concrete the threat is and the challenge that Rubio and Waltz face immediately after being confirmed.
ATTACKS ON AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE ARE THE LATEST VECTOR FOR THE CCP TO DISRUPT CRITICAL U.S. SYSTEMS
China’s ongoing campaign to influence America and uncover exploitable vulnerabilities is wide-ranging and comprehensive, and in his statement to the Select Committee on the CCP, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that “China is attempting to pre-position on U.S. critical infrastructure—setting up back doors to cripple vital assets and systems” to advance its geopolitical goals and potentially jeopardizing the physical safety of Americans. Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Jen Easterly echoed that assessment in explaining how “the disruption of our pipelines, the severing of our telecommunications, the pollution of our water facilities, [and] the crippling of our transportation modes” could allow hackers to remotely endanger American lives.
THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT CAUGHT HACKING PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATIONS
The Chinese government engaged in attempts to hack American telecommunications companies “to gain access to presidential candidate communications” according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). The threat was so substantial that on October 8, 2024, the White House established a Cyber Unified Coordination Group (Cyber UCG) to respond to the Chinese government’s hacking attempts. According to CRS, the actors responsible for these attacks took directions directly from the PRC government. These so-called Salt Typhoon hacks have now exposed massive flaws in our nation’s telecommunications security infrastructure.
HACKERS HAVE COMPROMISED CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND MAINTAINED ACCESS FOR YEARS
A separate ongoing campaign dubbed Volt Typhoon targeted IT systems in critical infrastructure organizations, including communications, energy, transportation, and water systems. According to the CISA, Volt Typhoon actors are pre-positioning themselves in these networks to enable the use of their access “for disruptive effects in the event of potential geopolitical tensions and/or military conflicts,” and in some cases have actually maintained persistent access for at least five years. This new vector of attack “marks a sharp escalation in China's willingness to seize U.S. infrastructure” and goes “beyond the typical effort to steal state secrets.” The potential for disruption and destruction – especially if timed for maximum effect alongside other attacks – could wreak havoc in affected communities.
STATE LEGISLATORS MUST ACT TO SHORE UP AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE
Although the new Trump administration will play an important part in helping fortify our defenses against China, policymakers at the state level are also critical to responding comprehensively to threats to essential infrastructure. The Protecting America Initiative has identified four concrete steps that state legislators can take to safeguard utilities, pipelines, and other vital assets:
Restricting Chinese companies from bidding on government infrastructure projects
Prioritizing “Made-in-the-USA” infrastructure in state-funded projects
Keeping Chinese energy projects out of future power grids
Prohibiting Chinese technology equipment at the state and local level
These steps should be taken in tandem with federal action to ensure that we systematically and effectively work to protect against attacks that could cripple entire communities and endanger lives.