Security News > 2023 > May > China has 50 hackers for every FBI cyber agent, says Bureau boss

China has 50 hackers for every one of the FBI's cyber-centric agents, the Bureau's director told a congressional committee last week.

"The scale of the Chinese cyber threat is unparalleled. They've got a bigger hacking program than every other major nation combined and have stolen more of our personal and corporate data than all other nations big or small combined."

"To give you a sense of what we're up against: If each one of the FBI's cyber agents and intel analysts focused exclusively on the China threat - on nothing but China - Chinese hackers would still outnumber FBI cyber personnel by at least 50 to 1.".

Wray said the Bureau is also investigating "Over a hundred different ransomware variants - each variant with scores of victims - as well as a host of other novel threats posed by both cyber criminals and nation-state actors."

Among the attacks the FBI has seen those groups undertake were efforts against "The critical infrastructure and services that ordinary Americans rely on every day. I'm talking about places like hospitals, schools, 911 call centers."

Wray pledged to put that cash "Towards ensuring the FBI remains the world's premier cyber investigative agency by taking the fight to our adversaries through joint sequenced operations and rapid information sharing with the private sector."

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/05/01/fbi_director_wray_china_testimony/