Chinese cyberespionage operations increasing in sophistication

Significant intelligence gathering efforts are being conducted by China-linked cyberespionage operations, with 39 industries across almost every continent being targeted, while North America was subjected to nearly 25% of Chinese hacking operations, NBC News reports. Chinese hackers have also been leveraging increasingly sophisticated techniques amid evolving cybersecurity protections, a report from CrowdStrike showed. While Chinese hacking of U.S. firms was temporarily reduced in 2015 following an agreement between former President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, China has began rebuilding its hacking arsenal since 2017, with operations transitioning from "smash and grab" schemes to credential theft campaigns that enabled stealthy network intrusions, according to CrowdStrike Head of Intelligence Adam Meyers. The findings come after China's hacking program was regarded by FBI Director Christopher Wray to be the largest worldwide. "They have stolen more Americans personal and business data than every other nation combined," said Wray before the House Homeland Security Committee in November.