Information security and policy experts have warned that the U.S. may face escalated Chinese cyberattacks in retaliation to the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump amid the ongoing trade war between both nations, reports The Register.
Attacks by the Chinese state-backed Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon operations were noted by cybersecurity advisor Tom Kellermann to have enabled infiltration of U.S. critical infrastructure, which could be leveraged for more significant intrusions. "Trade wars were a historical instrument of soft power. Cyber is and will be the modern instrument of choice," said cybersecurity advisor Tom Kellermann. Similar sentiments were shared by Foundation for Defense of Democracies Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation Director Annie Fixler, who noted that China has only been holding back on attacks as it gears up for a Taiwan crisis. Meanwhile, illicit cyber activity exploiting Trump's tariffs was observed by BforeAI CEO Luigi Lenguito to have increased in the last few weeks, with threat actors already engaging in invoice fraud and other scams involving shipping company impersonation.
Attacks by the Chinese state-backed Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon operations were noted by cybersecurity advisor Tom Kellermann to have enabled infiltration of U.S. critical infrastructure, which could be leveraged for more significant intrusions. "Trade wars were a historical instrument of soft power. Cyber is and will be the modern instrument of choice," said cybersecurity advisor Tom Kellermann. Similar sentiments were shared by Foundation for Defense of Democracies Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation Director Annie Fixler, who noted that China has only been holding back on attacks as it gears up for a Taiwan crisis. Meanwhile, illicit cyber activity exploiting Trump's tariffs was observed by BforeAI CEO Luigi Lenguito to have increased in the last few weeks, with threat actors already engaging in invoice fraud and other scams involving shipping company impersonation.
