FBI Chief Says China Stole Sensitive Data for Use in AI Program

According to Christopher Wray, FBI Director Christopher Wray, China has the world’s largest hacking program. The artificial intelligence program built by the Chinese regime is based on sensitive data stolen over the years.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wray warned of the cybersecurity threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use of technological advances against the United States.

Wray claimed that artificial intelligence was in China It is “built on top of the massive troves of intellectual property” he is not bound by the same set laws as in the United States or other democracies.

He suggested that the CCP could make use of artificial intelligence to enhance its hacking program and intellectual property theft. This is a form of repression that does not occur only in mainland China. “increasingly is a product that they export around the world” if left unchecked.

“That’s something we’re deeply concerned about, and I think everyone here should be deeply concerned about,” Wray spoke at the forum.

Officials from the United States have voiced similar concerns for years.

In October 2021, for instance, U.S. counterintelligence officials issued warnings about China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence as part of a renewed effort to inform business executives, academics, and local and state government officials about the risks of accepting Chinese investment or expertise in key industries.

Wray previously emphasized the CCP’s use of coercive laws to effectively force technology transfers from U.S. businesses operating in China to the state.

Surveillance Awareness in the USA: US Companies

In an apparent reference to China’s national intelligence laws, which allow the regime to demand the data of any company in the name of security, Wray said that many U.S. companies simply accept that they’ll be spied on.

“China’s economy also gives it leverage and tools, sway over companies. … For many U.S. and foreign companies doing business in China, or looking to, the cost effectively amounts to a blanket consent to state surveillance in the name of security, at best,” Wray spoke at a Boston College cybersecurity talk on June 1, 2022.

“At worst, they’ve got to accept the risk that their sensitive information may be co-opted to serve Beijing’s geopolitical goals,” He stated.

Wray also spoke out about how the CCP used China’s state-mandated tax system to spy on Chinese companies. He said that Chinese laws require businesses to make use of a small suite of software options for tax purposes, at least one of which was used by the CCP to implant malware into companies’ systems to allow covert government access to the company’s data.

Aside from direct government intervention, Wray said that China, along with Iran and Russia, is hiring hackers as if they were cyber mercenaries, and providing them with state resources to conduct attacks on the United States on China’s behalf.

He said that such actors often target defense and industrial sectors to cause havoc or deny access, steal secrets, or cause havoc.

“The Chinese government is methodical, hacking in support of long-term economic goals,” He stated.

“They’ve got a bigger hacking program than all other major nations combined. They’ve stolen more American personal and corporate data than all nations combined. And they’re showing no sign of tempering their ambition and aggression.”

This report was contributed by Andrew Thornebrooke, The Associated Press and The Associated Press.