The CCP’s CYBER ONSLAUGHT: Why America must act now to secure its future
By willowt // 2025-01-24
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  • The Chinese Communist Party has initiated a sophisticated cyberattack campaign targeting the US and its allies, raising concerns about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and national security.
  • In 2024, Chinese hackers breached the US Treasury Department and targeted telecom companies. These incidents are part of a broader campaign by Beijing-backed groups aiming to steal intellectual property and conduct strategic espionage.
  • The CCP's cyber aggression is not new. Past incidents include the 2020 RedEcho attack on India's power grid and the 2024 Salt Typhoon campaign targeting telecom networks. These events highlight the CCP's willingness to use cyber warfare for geopolitical coercion.
  • The Quad alliance—comprising the US, India, Japan, and Australia—has sought to strengthen collective cybersecurity efforts. However, significant gaps remain due to mistrust, asymmetric capabilities, and diverging legal frameworks.
  • The CCP's cyber onslaught poses a clear and present danger to national security. The US and its allies must act swiftly to close vulnerabilities, strengthen defenses, and deter future attacks, requiring technological innovation and a unified strategic vision.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has launched an unprecedented cyberespionage campaign targeting the United States and its allies, raising alarms about the vulnerability of America’s critical infrastructure and national security. As 2025 unfolds, experts warn that Beijing’s cyber capabilities are becoming more sophisticated, with the potential to disrupt everything from power grids to military operations. The stakes could not be higher, and the time for decisive action is now.

A growing threat to national security

In recent weeks, the CCP’s cyberattacks have dominated headlines. On January 8, Japan revealed that over 200 cyberattacks in the past five years were linked to the CCP-backed hacking group MirrorFace. These attacks targeted Japan’s foreign and defense ministries, its space agency and even private companies and think tanks. Meanwhile, in the United States, Chinese hackers breached the Treasury Department’s workstations in December 2024, stealing unclassified documents through a compromised third-party software provider, Beyond Trust. This breach is just one example of a broader campaign by Beijing-backed groups like Salt Typhoon, which has targeted nine major telecom companies, including Verizon, AT&T and Lumen Technologies. Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), warned in a January 15 blog post that a crisis in Asia—such as an invasion of Taiwan—could trigger devastating cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure. “Everything, everywhere, all at once,” she wrote, could be hit, from transportation nodes to power grids and water facilities. The CCP’s goal, according to Easterly, is clear: to induce societal panic and undermine America’s ability to defend its interests abroad. Neehar Pathare, CEO of cybersecurity firm 63SATS, echoed this sentiment, stating, “China’s state-affiliated cyber operations focus on intellectual property theft and strategic espionage, aiming for long-term access.”

Historical context: A pattern of aggression

The CCP’s cyber aggression is not new. In 2020, the hacking group RedEcho, linked to Chinese military intelligence, targeted India’s power grid following the deadly Galwan Valley clash between Indian and Chinese troops. This attack highlighted Beijing’s willingness to use cyber warfare as a tool of geopolitical coercion. Similarly, the 2024 Salt Typhoon campaign demonstrated the CCP’s ability to infiltrate global telecommunications networks, accessing private texts and phone conversations of Americans. The FBI and CISA have urged telecom companies to bolster their security, but the true scale of the breach remains unknown. Jeff Greene, CISA’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity, admitted, “We don’t have any illusion that once we kick off these actors they’re not going to come back.” These incidents are part of a broader pattern of Chinese cyber aggression. According to Microsoft’s 2024 Digital Defense Report, 33% of CCP cyber activity targets the United States, with East Asia and the Pacific bearing the brunt of the remaining attacks. Nishakant Ojha, a senior adviser to the Global Policy Institute, warned that China’s integration of artificial intelligence into its cyber operations will only enhance its capabilities in 2025.

The Quad’s response: A fragile alliance

In response to these threats, the Quad alliance—comprising the United States, India, Japan and Australia—has sought to strengthen its collective cybersecurity efforts. The Quad’s 2024 summit emphasized the need to protect critical infrastructure and coordinate responses to cyber incidents. However, significant gaps remain. Ojha pointed out that historical mistrust, asymmetric cyber capabilities and diverging legal frameworks hinder effective collaboration. “Addressing these bottlenecks requires building mutual trust, harmonizing legal frameworks and fostering equitable technological collaboration,” he said. Despite these challenges, the Quad has made progress. The alliance’s “cyber challenge” initiative, launched in 2023, aims to promote cybersecurity education and workforce development across the Indo-Pacific. Satoru Nagao, a nonresident fellow at the Hudson Institute, noted that cyber cooperation has wider potential, including software development and cyberwarfare.

A call to action

The CCP’s cyber onslaught is a clear and present danger to America’s national security. As Beijing continues to refine its cyber capabilities, the United States and its allies must act swiftly to close vulnerabilities, strengthen defenses and deter future attacks. This requires not only technological innovation but also a unified strategic vision among Quad nations. In addition to China, Russia, Iran and North Korea pose significant cyber threats to the West as well. The lessons of history are clear: complacency in the face of cyber threats invites disaster. From the RedEcho attacks on India’s power grid to the Salt Typhoon campaign targeting U.S. telecom networks, the CCP has demonstrated its willingness to exploit cyber vulnerabilities for geopolitical gain. The time for half-measures is over. America must lead the charge in securing its digital future—before it’s too late. As Easterly aptly warned, the CCP’s cyber program is “sophisticated and well-resourced.” The question is: Are we prepared to meet the challenge? The answer will determine the fate of our nation’s security and sovereignty in the digital age. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com APNews.com DarkReading.com
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