China’s Silent Warning: Cyber Intrusions Tied to Taiwan Tensions

[Social Media]

 

In a confidential meeting held in Geneva last December, Chinese officials delivered a quiet but chilling message to their American counterparts: Beijing was behind a series of cyberattacks targeting critical U.S. infrastructure. According to sources familiar with the meeting, the Chinese delegation indirectly acknowledged that the intrusions were linked to growing U.S. support for Taiwan, suggesting the cyber campaigns were intended as a warning.

 

The summit, which took place between senior officials from both nations, marked a rare moment of semi-acknowledgment from China, whose officials typically deny involvement in such activities. The attacks—part of what cybersecurity researchers have named “Volt Typhoon”—had previously been attributed by U.S. intelligence to the Chinese government, which appeared to be positioning itself within American computer networks to enable swift, damaging attacks in the event of military conflict.

 

 

During the Geneva session, Wang Lei, a high-ranking cyber official from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stopped short of explicitly admitting responsibility. However, his comments strongly implied that the infrastructure hacks were a response to Washington’s military backing of Taiwan. “China wants U.S. officials to know that, yes, they do have this capability, and they are willing to use it,” said Dakota Cary, a China expert with SentinelOne. Cary noted that such a tacit admission would only come from someone authorized by the highest levels of Xi Jinping’s administration.

 

American officials present at the meeting interpreted the remarks as a calculated signal from Beijing. “It was indirect and somewhat ambiguous,” said a former U.S. official familiar with the conversation, “but most in the room saw it as a tacit admission and a warning to the U.S. about Taiwan.” The gathering included representatives from the State Department, the Pentagon, the National Security Council, and intelligence agencies. It was led on the U.S. side by Nate Fick, who was then serving as the ambassador-at-large for cyberspace and digital policy.

 

The meeting occurred amid broader revelations about Chinese cyber operations, including a separate campaign—dubbed “Salt Typhoon”—that gave Chinese operatives access to telecommunications networks like AT&T and Verizon. That breach enabled Chinese intelligence to monitor unencrypted communications of U.S. government officials and political figures, including those in the Trump and Harris presidential campaigns. While that issue surfaced during the Geneva talks, it was largely set aside to focus on the more provocative Volt Typhoon campaign, which targeted civilian infrastructure such as ports, water utilities, and airports.

 

The State Department declined to comment directly on the Geneva meeting but emphasized that the U.S. had “made clear to Beijing it will take actions in response to Chinese malicious cyber activity,” calling the hacking “some of the gravest and most persistent threats to U.S. national security.” The National Security Council under the Trump White House also declined to comment.

 

Beijing, meanwhile, responded to inquiries by accusing the U.S. of using cybersecurity to “smear and slander China,” and dismissed the accusations as disinformation about “so-called hacking threats.”

 

Since the meeting, tensions between the two countries have worsened, with the U.S. deepening its economic and military confrontation with China. The Trump administration has vowed to adopt more aggressive cyber tactics, even as it faces internal turmoil, including the dismissal of hundreds of cybersecurity staff and the firing of the National Security Agency’s top leaders—moves that some lawmakers fear could weaken U.S. defenses.

 

Despite the ambiguous language used during the Geneva summit, the message was unmistakable to U.S. officials. The strategic placement of cyber weapons within civilian infrastructure, and the willingness to acknowledge it—however subtly—signaled that China is prepared to escalate its response if Taiwan becomes a flashpoint for conflict.

 

Based on a report by WSJ  2025-04-12

 

 

[mfd101]

2 hours ago, Social Media said:

The Trump administration has vowed to adopt more aggressive cyber tactics, even as it faces internal turmoil, including the dismissal of hundreds of cybersecurity staff and the firing of the National Security Agency’s top leaders—moves that some lawmakers fear could weaken U.S. defenses.

How not to deal with China.

[Watawattana]

3 hours ago, Social Media said:

The Trump administration has vowed to adopt more aggressive cyber tactics, even as it faces internal turmoil, including the dismissal of hundreds of cybersecurity staff and the firing of the National Security Agency’s top leaders—moves that some lawmakers fear could weaken U.S. defenses.

Smart move.  Now Musk should re-hire or replace all of the staff he is accountable for firing, but only the techs who actually do the cybersecurity and definitely NOT the HR people who are responsible for the DEI bovine excrement.  And all at Musks's expense with zero charge to the US tax payer.