Cyberattacks on Guam could sap US forces in Indo-Pacific, Nakasone says

WASHINGTON — Successful Chinese cyberattacks on critical infrastructure in Guam or other Indo-Pacific footholds could cripple U.S. military capabilities in the region, the leader of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command said.

Guam is a key outpost for U.S. forces in the increasingly competitive area, where Washington thinks a fight with Beijing could erupt. The island serves as a logistics and munitions hub, as well as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance node.

An assault on the networks and information technology that support Guam’s distribution of electricity, water, food and emergency response could “have a very significant impact” on the options available to military commanders at the time, said Gen. Paul Nakasone.

“Communications, an ability to leverage our most lethal weapon systems — these are all areas that we would rely on,” he said during a Jan. 31 hearing held by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party . “We have to operate every day, we have to have vigilance, we have to have offensive and defensive capabilities.”

The Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance — made up of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S. — in May warned a Chinese espionage group slipped past digital defenses in Guam and other locations. Microsoft detected the intrusion and attributed it to a group known as Volt Typhoon.

U.S. officials have long considered China a serious cyber hazard, with the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank placing it in the second tier of its cyber powerhouse rankings alongside Russia. The Pentagon’s 2023 cyber strategy warned Beijing is prepared to unleash cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and defense networks, should war break out.

U.S. Cyber Command boss Gen. Paul Nakasone speaks at the AFCEA TechNet Cyber conference in Baltimore, MD., on May 2, 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)

Such tactics are meant to foment confusion, divert precious resources and hamstring military mobilization.

Nakasone on Wednesday said when hackers are found lurking around critical infrastructure, the “first thing that we need to do is make sure that we get them out.” As head of CYBERCOM and the NSA , the general is in close contact with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which falls under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security, among other players.

“We need to have a vigilance that continues onward,” Nakasone said. “This is not an episodic threat that we’re going to face. This is persistent.”

Rep. Mike Gallagher, the committee chairman, told reporters before the hearing he had seen reports that China is shifting some of its attention away from traditional economic espionage and toward targeting critical infrastructure.

That move signals an eagerness to sabotage, according to the Wisconsin Republican, as there is “no economic value in pre-positioning on oil and gas pipelines or water utility companies — there’s no intellectual property to steal.”

Colin Demarest was a reporter at C4ISRNET, where he covered military networks, cyber and IT. Colin had previously covered the Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration — namely Cold War cleanup and nuclear weapons development — for a daily newspaper in South Carolina. Colin is also an award-winning photographer.

华盛顿——美国国家安全局和美国网络司令部负责人表示，中国对关岛或其他印太地区据点的关键基础设施发动成功的网络攻击，可能会削弱美国在该地区的军事能力。

关岛是美军在这一竞争日益激烈的地区的重要前哨，华盛顿认为与北京的冲突可能在此爆发。该岛既是后勤和弹药中心，也是情报、监视和侦察节点。

保罗·中曾根将军表示，对关岛电力、水、食品分配和应急响应所依赖的网络和信息技术发起攻击，可能会对当时军事指挥官可选择的方案产生“非常重大的影响”。

“通信能力，以及运用我们最致命武器系统的能力——这些都是我们赖以生存的领域，”他在1月31日众议院中国共产党特别委员会举行的听证会上说。“我们必须每天开展行动，我们必须保持警惕，我们必须具备进攻和防御能力。”

由澳大利亚、加拿大、新西兰、英国和美国组成的“五眼联盟”情报共享组织在五月份发出警告，称一个中国间谍组织突破了关岛和其他地区的数字防御系统。微软检测到了此次入侵，并将其归咎于一个名为“伏特台风”（Volt Typhoon）的组织。

美国官员长期以来一直将中国视为严重的网络威胁，国际战略研究所（ISS）智库已将其与俄罗斯并列为网络实力第二梯队。五角大楼2023年网络战略警告称，一旦战争爆发，北京已准备好对关键基础设施和国防网络发动网络攻击。

美国网络司令部司令保罗·中曾根将军于2023年5月2日在马里兰州巴尔的摩举行的AFCEA TechNet网络安全会议上发表讲话。（科林·德马雷斯特/摄）

这种策略旨在制造混乱，转移宝贵资源，并削弱军事动员能力。

中曾根将军周三表示，一旦发现黑客潜伏在关键基础设施附近，“我们首先要做的是确保将他们清除出去”。作为美国网络司令部和国家安全局的负责人，这位将军与隶属于国土安全部的网络安全和基础设施安全局以及其他机构保持着密切联系。

“我们需要保持持续的警惕，”中曾根说。“这不是我们即将面临的偶发性威胁，而是持续性的威胁。”

委员会主席迈克·加拉格尔议员在听证会前告诉记者，他看到有报道称，中国正在将部分注意力从传统的经济间谍活动转移到针对关键基础设施的攻击上。

这位威斯康星州共和党人表示，此举表明他们急于进行破坏，因为“在石油和天然气管道或自来水公司预先部署没有任何经济价值——没有知识产权可以窃取”。

科林·德马雷斯特曾是C4ISRNET的记者，负责报道军事网络、网络安全和信息技术方面的新闻。此前，他曾为南卡罗来纳州的一家日报报道美国能源部及其下属的国家核安全管理局，主要关注冷战后的清理工作和核武器研发。科林还是一位屡获殊荣的摄影师。