Chinese hackers outnumber FBI cyber personnel 'by at least 50 to 1,' Wray testifies

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FBI Director Christopher Wray testified Thursday that bureau agents are outnumbered by "at least 50 to 1" when attempting to address the threat China poses to critical infrastructure through its cyber hacking practices, and said Beijing has stolen more personal and corporate data from the U.S. than any other nation.

"They’ve got a bigger hacking program than every other major nation combined and have stolen more of our personal and corporate data than all other nations – big or small combined," Wray said at a House Appropriations Committee hearing Thursday.

"To give you a sense of what we’re up against, if each one of the FBI’s cyber agents and intel analysts focused exclusively on the China threat – on nothing but China – Chinese hackers would still outnumber FBI cyber personnel by at least 50 to 1," Wray testified.

"Today’s cyber threats are more pervasive, hit a wider variety of victims, and carry the potential for greater damage than ever before," Wray said. "You can take China. A key part of the Chinese government’s multi-pronged strategy to lie, to cheat and to steal their way to surpassing us as the global superpower in cyber."

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FBI Director Christopher Wray (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Wray testified that the scale of the Chinese cyber threat is "unparalleled," but he said China is "not the only challenge in cyberspace."

"Not even close," he said. "We’re investigating over a hundred different ransomware variants. Each variant with scores of victims, as well as a host of other novel threats posed by both cyber criminals and nation state actors."

Wray said those threats also come from Russia, Iran and North Korea.

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"It is getting more and more challenging to discern where the nation state threat ends and the cyber criminal threat begins," he said.

The U.S. and China are increasingly going toe-to-toe in the area of cybersecurity and cyberthreats. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

Wray warned that cyberattacks are targeting critical infrastructure and services that "ordinary Americans rely on every day," like hospitals, schools and 911 call centers.

Wray requested funding for nearly 200 more cyber positions at the FBI, a little over $63 million.

"We will put those critical resources toward ensuring the FBI remains the world’s premier cyber investigative agency by taking the fight to our adversaries through joint-sequenced operations and rapid information sharing with the private sector," Wray said.

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Wray’s warnings come after the intelligence community’s annual threat assessment stated that China represents the "broadest, most active, and persistent cyber espionage threat to U.S. Government and private-sector networks."

Russia and China are major cybersecurity threats to the U.S., Wray testified. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via Getty Images)

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Officials have warned that China is "capable of launching cyberattacks that could disrupt critical infrastructure services within the United States, including against oil and gas pipelines, and rail systems."

As for Russia, intelligence officials assessed that the Kremlin will continue to employ military, security, malign influence, cyber and intelligence tools to "undermine the interests of the United States and its allies."

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Officials also have warned that Iran and North Korea represent a "major threat" to U.S. networks and data, due to its capabilities and willingness to conduct "aggressive cyber operations."