US states warned about escalating Chinese hacking threats

All U.S. secretaries of state have been warned about the increasing threat of Chinese cyberattacks following intrusions targeted at political party infrastructure prior to the 2022 elections, CNN reports. U.S. political parties' IT systems have been noted by the FBI to be targeted for possible reconnaissance efforts weeks before the midterm polls. "We could see more significant Chinese cyber activity against your states in the coming year," said FBI Cyber Division Deputy Assistant Director Cynthia Kaiser during a National Association of Secretaries of State conference. Kaiser's allegations were disputed by the Chinese Embassy in Washington, which also alleged the U.S. in launching its own hacking operations. U.S. states have also been advised to be vigilant of potential Russian threats against their computer systems. "We dont have any intelligence that Russia is looking to target state and local or election systems more directly than before. But were certainly aware of the possibility and have a very low threshold for sharing that information," said Kaiser.