FBI: China hacking poses a major threat

The danger to the West from the Chinese government is “more brazen” than ever before, according to FBI Director Christopher Wray. Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Monday, Wray said that even as Russia-Ukraine tensions dominate headlines, China remains the biggest threat to U.S. interests by stealing U.S. innovation across multiple industries. The Beijing Olympics begin in days, and U.S. athletes and attendees have been advised to bring disposable “burner” phones to avoid Chinese surveillance.

How serious is the problem? In 2015, the U.S. and China announced a deal at the White House not to steal each other’s intellectual property or trade secrets for commercial gain. But Wray said the FBI has more than 2,000 open investigations into Chinese efforts to take American information or technology. He said the bureau is opening new cases to counter Chinese intelligence operations every 12 hours or so. And he added that the Communist government is pilfering more personal and corporate data than all other countries combined.

Dig deeper: Listen to Nick Eicher discuss international corporate hacking with David Bahnsen on The World and Everything in It podcast.