Preparing to create disruption in event of conflict
By Bob Unruh
China’s threat to America now includes schemes to disrupt power and water supplies, communications and even transportation systems, according to officials cited in a new report.
Experts quoted by the Washington Post explained that hackers linked to China’s People’s Liberation Army already have succeeded in breaching “the computer systems of about two dozen critical entities over the past year.”
The goal, the report describes, is to find ways to “sow panic and chaos or snarl logistics in the event of a U.S.-China conflict in the Pacific.”
Those in a bull’s-eye already include a water utility in Hawaii, a port along the West Coast and an oil and gas pipeline, those experts told the publication.
“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,” the report noted.
The report, citing anonymous sources, said there also were several targets outside the United States.
The report noted no industrial controls so far have been disrupted, but the fact that Hawaii has been targeted suggests the intent to impact America’s operation of its Pacific Fleet, such as shipping troops or equipment.