From AI to to data leaks, cyber dangers threaten China’s infrastructure, state security chief warns
- The risks are growing and their effects could be dire for transport, energy, finance and communication, Chen Yixin says
- The internet rumour mill is the most prevalent hazard, he says
“Our biggest hidden risk is that our critical basic information infrastructure can be vulnerable to attack,” Chen wrote in the article “Strengthening National Security Governance in the Digital Era”.
“Our finance, energy, electricity, communications and transport operation networks have become key targets of cyberattacks from outside the country.
“There would be dire consequences such as transport disruptions, chaos in financial markets, and paralysis of electricity supply if these systems were hacked, taken over, tampered with or sabotaged.”
02:04
‘Stop stealing’: China condemns US over Trojan horse cyberattacks on state-funded university
He also warned that Communist Party organs, government departments such as national defence, military enterprises, and research institutions faced increasingly frequent cyberattacks that were “of scale, organised and persistent”.