China

WhoWhatWhy  - In spite of the CHIPS and Science Act, in the last 4 years the use of proprietary Chinese chips & chiplets in global manufacturing has increased by 40 percent. These chips are inside all aspects of western industry, government infrastructure, the military, and even inside your home. This is not just an idle threat according to the NSA and NCSC, all devices with Wi-Fi capabilities are potential attack vectors. Wi-Fi operations are typically initiated automatically without you even knowing.

In 2018 China infiltrated almost 30 US companies, including Amazon and Apple. Chinese microchips disabled passwords, enabled contact with out-of-network computers, and altered operating systems. A major American telecommunications company found and removed manipulated hardware in its network. These motherboard alterations occurred during manufacturing by a Supermicro subcontractor in China.The threat posed by proprietary Chinese chips across every sector of western functionality has been exponentially increased by AI synchronicity. This combination also makes it possible and cost effective to engage in at-scale individual ransomware attacks, making everyone’s personal devices more vulnerable to these digital assaults.

WhoWhatWhy - Chinese government-linked hackers have burrowed into U.S. critical infrastructure and are waiting ‘for just the right moment to deal a devastating blow,’ FBI Director Christopher Wray said [in April]. An ongoing Chinese hacking campaign known as Volt Typhoon has successfully gained access to numerous American companies in telecommunications, energy, water and other critical sectors, with 23 pipeline operators targeted, Wray said in a speech at Vanderbilt University.”