White House official: China maintained PERSISTENT ACCESS to U.S. networks for years

White House official: China maintained PERSISTENT ACCESS to U.S. networks for years. Hackers backed by the Chinese Communist Party had "Persistent access" to U.S. networks and allied systems for years. In the event of a conflict, Beijing intended to use its cyber access to "Cripple" critical systems - including power grids and communications platforms. The NSC official added that while CCP efforts to prepare for the sabotage of critical infrastructure were alarming, they were unlikely to be leveraged absent a major conflict between Beijing and Washington. That's because an attack on U.S. infrastructure that resulted in American casualties would be considered an outright attack. According to a statement at the time, CISA said CCP-backed hackers were "Seeking to pre-position themselves on IT networks for disruptive or destructive cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure." Eric Goldstein, CISA executive assistant director for cybersecurity, said the operation only targeted a fraction of the Chinese malware that seeks to infiltrate U.S. systems every day.