Florida – Republican Senator Marco Rubio from Florida highlighted on social media the serious implications of a potential cyberattack from China, emphasizing that the recent AT&T outage, which affected thousands, is minor in comparison. Rubio expressed uncertainty about the cause of the AT&T disruption on X (formerly Twitter) but stressed the devastating impact a cyberattack from China could have, especially if it were to occur before an invasion of Taiwan. He cautioned that such an attack would target not only telecommunications but also essential services like electricity, water, and financial systems.
I don’t know the cause of the AT&T outage
But I do know it will be 100 times worse when #China launches a cyber attack on America on the eve of a #Taiwan invasion
And it won’t be just cell service they hit, it will be your power, your water and your bank
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 22, 2024
The alert from Rubio came as Downdetector reported widespread service disruptions for AT&T customers, affecting home phones, internet, and cell phones early Thursday morning. The majority of complaints, about 54%, were related to mobile service issues, with a significant portion of customers reporting complete loss of signal and some experiencing mobile internet failures.
AT&T acknowledged the service disruptions affecting their wireless customers and assured urgent efforts to restore connectivity, advising customers to use Wi-Fi calling in the meantime.
By mid-morning, over 74,000 AT&T customers had reported issues to Downdetector. Additionally, earlier in the month, FBI Director Christopher Wray highlighted the escalating threat of Chinese cyberattacks against the U.S. and its allies, describing it as reaching a critical level. In a speech in Germany, Wray warned of the Chinese government’s hacking activities and its strategic positioning within American infrastructure, indicating a significant threat poised to disrupt critical sectors, including the energy industry, at Beijing’s discretion. He underscored the shift towards more aggressive cyber tactics by China, positioning their capabilities within vital U.S. systems, ready to strike when deemed necessary by Beijing.
A recent report from U.S. security agencies also indicated that Chinese hackers had access to U.S. infrastructure systems for at least 5 years before they were discovered recently. compromised the IT environments of multiple critical infrastructure organizations—primarily in Communications, Energy, Transportation Systems, and Water and Wastewater Systems Sectors—in the continental and non-continental United States and its territories. The report states that the cyber operation’s goal was not intelligence gathering, but instead to gain access to and control critical infrastructure across the U.S. The report adds that the hackers could wreak havoc on U.S. systems in the event of a major conflict between the U.S. and China.
