East Michigan News

Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and House Homeland Security Committee Republicans have introduced legislation aimed at addressing cyber threats from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The bill, named the Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act, was led by Chairman Moolenaar and Representative Laurel Lee (R-FL). It proposes the creation of an interagency task force headed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to tackle cybersecurity threats from state-sponsored actors linked to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including Volt Typhoon.

The proposed legislation also mandates that this task force provide a classified report and briefing to Congress annually for five years. These reports will include findings, conclusions, and recommendations regarding malicious CCP cyber activities. Homeland Committee Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) is a co-sponsor of this bill.

“At our Select Committee hearing earlier this year, FBI Director Wray broke the news that the United States had uncovered state-affiliated Chinese hackers, known collectively as Volt Typhoon, who infiltrated American critical infrastructure and installed malware to unleash a cyber-attack at a time of their choosing,” said Chairman Moolenaar. “I’m proud to co-sponsor this legislation led by Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) that will help protect the American people.”

Representative Lee commented on the threat posed by CCP-linked actors: “The CCP, acting through Volt Typhoon and other threat actors, has made a concerted effort to pre-position itself within our networks in order to target and compromise the critical infrastructure Americans rely on every day––from the transportation and water sectors to the energy sector. While individual agencies have worked to examine and address the threats posed by malign cyber actors like Volt Typhoon, a siloed approach to cybersecurity will only give our adversaries the upper hand. It is critical that the federal government implements a focused, coordinated, and whole-of-government response to all of Beijing’s cyber threats so no other actors succeed.”

Chairman Green emphasized urgency in addressing these threats: “The threat actor ‘Volt Typhoon’ remained undetected and undeterred in our networks for far too long. The discovery of the new actor ‘Flax Typhoon’ further demonstrates the CCP’s unabashed commitment to infiltrating our critical infrastructure. While intrusions from threat actors like the Typhoons create a dangerous opportunity for espionage, we know they could also serve as open doors for the CCP to manipulate or thwart crucial services Americans rely on in case of escalation in Indo-Pacific. Now is the time to address China’s threat in cyberspace.”

Read a copy of the legislation HERE.