Bill Drexel, an associate fellow with the Center for a New American Security's (CNAS) Technology and National Security Program, told Federal Newswire about the potential catastrophic impact of a successful Chinese cyberattack on U.S. critical infrastructure. Drexel's comments were in response to a January Congressional hearing where FBI Director Christopher Wray discussed the threats posed by cyber actors supported by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
"The Colonial Pipeline attack, which forced major disruptions to gas delivery across the East Coast in 2021 and resulted in emergency declarations in 17 states, is only a very small taste of the chaos that could be induced by a successful large-scale cyber-attack," said Drexel. "At its worst, an attack distributed across several domains such as electricity, water treatment, aviation, ports, and railways could have crippling effects, initiating cascading system failures that would compound in severity as supply chains and public services falter. The result would be dramatic losses in economic value, and perhaps life as well."
In May 2021, TechTarget reported that a ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline disrupted its digital systems, leading to a shutdown that lasted several days. The pipeline, one of the largest in the country, transports oil from refineries to industry markets. This incident was deemed a national security threat by President Joe Biden, who declared a state of emergency over the shutdown. The hack is considered to be the most significant publicly disclosed cyberattack against U.S. critical infrastructure to date. The hacker group DarkSide was identified as responsible for this attack; however, no official links have been established between DarkSide and any state-sponsored activities.
During a hearing titled "The CCP Cyber Threats to the American Homeland and National Security," Wray testified that Chinese cyber actors are becoming increasingly stealthy and sophisticated. According to his testimony, these attempted cyberattacks target entities of all sizes, ranging from crucial U.S. infrastructure to schools and small businesses. Wray stated that hackers backed by CCP are attempting to establish "back doors" into critical U.S. infrastructure which could be exploited if China invades Taiwan as a means to restrict U.S aid to Taiwan. "We have observed the CCP target multiple critical infrastructure entities, attacks which could potentially jeopardize the physical safety of Americans," said Wray.
Drexel's work at CNAS primarily involves technology competition and risks associated with artificial intelligence use in national defense, according to information available on the CNAS website. Prior roles held by Drexel include serving as an internal displacement data officer at UN Migration and as a research associate at the American Enterprise Institute. Throughout his career, Drexel has conducted investigative research in China's Xinjiang region, operated a rescue boat during Libya's migration crisis, and contributed to humanitarian data efforts in Ukraine.
