Tuesday, December 12, 2023

These Times Keep Getting More Interesting

The number of intrusions into U.S. infrastructure-linked networks by hackers traceable to the Chinese government is on the rise, apparently.
"Hackers affiliated with China’s People’s Liberation Army have burrowed into the computer systems of about two dozen critical entities over the past year, these experts said.

The intrusions are part of a broader effort to develop ways to sow panic and chaos or snarl logistics in the event of a U.S.-China conflict in the Pacific, they said.

Among the victims are a water utility in Hawaii, a major West Coast port and at least one oil and gas pipeline, people familiar with the incidents told The Washington Post. The hackers also attempted to break into the operator of Texas’s power grid, which operates independently from electrical systems in the rest of the country.
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Being able to mess with a rival nation's utilities would be a potent force multiplier. It's a new feature of warfare and one that hasn't really been thoroughly explored; it's like if the Lufwaffe could have preceded Adlertag by shutting off the power to the London tube and the Chain Home radar stations.

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