FBI raises alarm on suspected Chinese breach of surveillance system

The FBI has reportedly given a "major incident" declaration to a suspected Chinese cyberattack against a U.S. government surveillance system due to its threat to national security, NBC News reports.

Attackers leveraging tactics akin to Chinese state-sponsored threat operation Salt Typhoon to infiltrate the surveillance system were able to access sensitive law enforcement information, according to sources close to the matter, who noted that lawmakers have already been notified by the FBI regarding the incident. Neither the FBI nor the Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency has publicly acknowledged the intrusion and the designation.

However, such a development was noted by a former senior cybersecurity official to indicate Chinese state-backed hackers' continued targeting of U.S. infrastructure despite ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to defuse tensions with China. Meanwhile, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner, D-Va., noted the incident to highlight persistent threats against the U.S.

"What makes this even more concerning is that, at the very moment these threats are escalating, this administration has been systematically hollowing out the very cyber expertise we rely on to defend the country, pushing out experienced professionals at the FBI and at Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency," Warner added.