With the Supreme Court prepared to rule on whether the Chinese social media app TikTok — which has elicited warnings from legislators of its pernicious influence in the United States — could be banned in the United States, another Chinese-owned social media app is gaining adherents at a rapid rate.
ByteDance, which owns TikTok, will likely have to sell the social media platform by January 19. Otherwise, it will be shut down in the U.S., unless the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Chinese social media app.
“Congress and the president were concerned,” Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/10/us/politics/supreme-court-tiktok-ban-law.html">stated</a>, “that China was accessing information about millions of Americans, tens of millions of Americans, including teenagers, people in their 20s.” That possibility could lead to China using the personal information for spying or blackmail. Additionally, concern has been expressed over disinformation purveyed from China.
Meanwhile, the social media app Xiaohongshu, which means “little red book” in Mandarin, “was the most downloaded free app in the U.S. Apple store on Tuesday,” The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/14/business/tiktok-rednote-xiaohongshu-app.html?partner=slack&amp;smid=sl-share" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. “The Americans on Xiaohongshu have rallied under the hashtag ‘TikTokrefugee,’ which had been viewed 100 million times and sparked around 2.5 million discussion threads on the app by Tuesday.”
“Little Red Book” also happens to be the title of a book of sayings by Mao Zedong, the tyrannical former leader of Communist China. Under Mao, a reported 40 to 80 million victims died of starvation, persecution, prison labor, and mass executions.
In August 2023, Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, who has led the fight to ban TikTok, wrote in an <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/08/08/as-tiktok-comes-for-american-businesses-its-past-time-to-ban-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opinion piece</a>,  “TikTok’s public-policy chief blatantly lied under oath when he denied US data is stored in China. ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, was caught in October using the app to spy on American journalists.”
“Almost a third of the country uses TikTok semi-regularly,” Rubio pointed out. He delineated how TikTok was undercutting American companies by selling products more cheaply through its app. “Who, for that matter, will even be aware of American goods on the market when TikTok’s algorithm begins — as it surely will — to favor Chinese sellers?” he asked.
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“China’s totalitarian regime hates the United States and is bent on displacing us as the world’s greatest power,” Rubio wrote. “If TikTok users believe their sensitive data are safe in Beijing’s hands — that Beijing wouldn’t use those data to influence, coerce, extort or spy on them in the case of a geopolitical conflict­­ — they need to think again.”
In March 2023, Rubio and Iowa GOP Senator Joni Ernst introduced the <a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/rubio-ernst-introduce-bill-to-deny-federal-funds-to-tiktok-partners/#:~:text=U.S.%20Senators%20Marco%20Rubio%20(R%2DFL)%20and%20Joni%20Ernst,partnership%2C%20or%20advertisement%20with%20TikTok." target="_blank" rel="noopener">No Funds for Enablers of Adversarial Propaganda Act</a> to deny federal funds to any individual or entity with an agreement, partnership, or advertisement with TikTok.
“Chinese-owned TikTok is a threat, but some entities, including our nation’s airports, are still willing to accept advertising dollars from the company. They are either naive, greedy, or both. Regardless, they shouldn’t receive taxpayer dollars if they are going to accept money from or partner with TikTok. These companies need to stop enabling Chinese Communist Party propaganda and espionage efforts,” Rubio <a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/rubio-ernst-introduce-bill-to-deny-federal-funds-to-tiktok-partners/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>.

The Little Red book Became No.1 Download on Apple’s App Store

With TikTok On Verge Of Being Banned, Another Chinese Social Media App Is Swiftly Gaining Adherents

Communist China

Social Media

Technology

TikTok

World

FBI Director Christopher Wray said during an interview over the weekend that communist China is the most significant threat facing the incoming Trump administration.
Wray made the remarks during an interview that aired Sunday on CBS News&#8217; &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; just days before he steps down from his position after President-elect Donald Trump said that he would replace Wray with a new nominee, Kash Patel.
&#8220;The greatest long-term threat facing our country, in my view, is represented by the People&#8217;s Republic of China, the Chinese government, which I consider to be the defining threat of our generation,&#8221; Wray said.
When asked about China&#8217;s recent hack of U.S. cyber and infrastructure, Wray said that China&#8217;s program is &#8220;far and away the world&#8217;s largest — bigger than that of every major nation combined and has stolen more of Americans&#8217; personal and corporate data than that of every nation, big or small, combined.&#8221;
&#8220;But even beyond the cyber theft, there&#8217;s another part of the Chinese cyber threat that I think has not gotten the attention publicly that it I think desperately deserves,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And that is Chinese government&#8217;s pre-positioning on American civilian critical infrastructure. To lie in wait on those networks to be in a position to wreak havoc and can inflict real-world harm at a time and place of their choosing.&#8221;
He said that China has used malware to infect water treatment plants, transportation systems, the electric grid, natural gas pipelines, and telecommunications systems.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
The Chinese government is the greatest long-term threat facing our country, says FBI Director Christopher Wray. <a href="https://t.co/QKATOO0ZDw">https://t.co/QKATOO0ZDw</a> <a href="https://t.co/Si5u8BMXYd">pic.twitter.com/Si5u8BMXYd</a>
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) <a href="https://twitter.com/60Minutes/status/1878599284515287260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2025</a></blockquote>

Worldwide Threats

FBI Director Wray Reveals Top Threat Facing Incoming Trump Admin

China

Christopher Wray

The University of Michigan, which has worked with Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Communist China since 2005, suddenly announced it was ending the partnership.
Last October 31, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, wrote a letter to University of Michigan President Santa J. Ono, warning him of the risks of a partnership with the Chinese university. His letter came in the wake of five Chinese nationals from the Joint Institute studying at the University of Michigan being charged with <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/02/us/5-chinese-nationals-charged-with-covering-up-midnight-visit-to-michigan-military-site/index.html">deliberately concealing</a> their unauthorized visit to Camp Grayling in northern Michigan. Those nationals came from China to Michigan as students through the joint institute partnership.
“Shanghai Jiao Tong plays a critical role in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) military-civil fusion strategy,” Moolenaar <a href="https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2024-10-31%20-%20Letter%20to%20U-M%20re%20Research%20Security%20House%20Select%20Cmte%20CCP.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. “Through its extensive military-aligned departments and laboratories, advanced dual-use research programs, and large-scale operational training platforms, Shanghai Jiao Tong drives the PRC’s military modernization and intelligence capabilities. For example, the university is currently home to several national-level laboratories, including three defense-related laboratories. This military-academic integration enables Shanghai Jiao Tong to make significant contributions to the PRC’s most sensitive defense programs, including nuclear weapons, carrier rockets, satellites, nuclear submarines, and fighter jets.”
“Research performed at the Joint Institute advances the PRC’s defense and intelligence capabilities,” he added. “For example, Institute researchers have helped the PRC achieve advancements in defense technologies from propellant combustion modeling and solid rocket fuel research to anti-corrosion technology for military aircraft developed with People’s Liberation Army (PLA) researchers. They have worked on projects to improve CT imaging technology for detecting flaws in advanced military equipment, which appears to have leveraged Department of Defense- funded research from University of Michigan faculty.”
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“International academic partnerships have deeply enriched our academic offerings and strengthened the global education of our students, and we will continue to pursue partnerships around the world as part of our academic mission,” Ono <a href="https://record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-to-end-partnership-with-shanghai-jiao-tong-university/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> regarding the termination of the partnership. “As we do so, we must also prioritize our commitment to national security.”
“International experiences are vital for our students in this interconnected world,” he said. “We remain committed to supporting U-M’s international students and will continue to foster international partnerships that advance knowledge and cross-cultural understanding and ensure our campus remains a vibrant community where scholars from around the world can thrive.”
Georgia Tech <a href="https://www.gatech.edu/news/2024/09/06/georgia-tech-exit-georgia-tech-shenzhen-institute" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a</a><a href="https://www.gatech.edu/news/2024/09/06/georgia-tech-exit-georgia-tech-shenzhen-institute" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nnounced</a> the termination of the Georgia Tech Shenzhen Joint Institute in September. The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party noted in July 2023 that then-Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the committee and Chairwoman Virginia Fox (R-NC) of the Education and the Workforce Committee sent a letter to the President and Chancellor of the University of California Berkeley warning them about Berkeley&#8217;s joint institute with Tsinghua University and the Shenzhen government in China.

Aerial View of University of Michigan Campus and Urban Landscape

University Of Michigan Ends Partnership With Communist Chinese University

Department of Defense

Education

U.S.

University of Michigan

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) said that communist China needs to be punished for its massive cyberattack on U.S. telecommunications companies.
Kelly made the remarks during a Sunday interview on CBS News&#8217; &#8220;Face The Nation&#8221; with Margaret Brennan when asked what the consequences need to be with China.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve got to be strong in standing up to them and explaining to them, and in some cases, I think consequences need to be serious,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There are things that we can do, we have the tools. But I would say, even beyond that, we&#8217;ve got to figure out a way to get them off of the infrastructure.&#8221;
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&#8220;With regards to the telecom system, multiple companies, you know, Chinese cyber software are currently on those systems, and we&#8217;re working to try to fix this,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Some of this is going to require that the- the telecom companies upgrade their infrastructure. That could be costly. We&#8217;re currently working with them to do that.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
There could be &#8220;a disruption in the service&#8221; of TikTok in the U.S. when the ban put into law goes into effect on January 19, unless the Supreme Court intervenes, says Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ).
He says he knows the ban is &#8220;controversial,&#8221; but TikTok &#8220;has a national security risk to… <a href="https://t.co/y3LWgIE8gI">pic.twitter.com/y3LWgIE8gI</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1878491501078212889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
On the issue of TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media app, Kelly said that app will likely go dark starting next weekend.
&#8220;Based on the oral argument in the case two days ago, it looks like the Supreme Court- I mean, I don&#8217;t really want to speculate, but it does look like they&#8217;re going to uphold the law that we passed,&#8221; Kelly said. &#8220;So, I think on the 19th, so one day before- before the inauguration, you know, TikTok on our systems, on our servers, becomes something that&#8217;s now been banned by Congress.&#8221;
&#8220;So I imagine there&#8217;s going to be a disruption in the service here, you know, starting on the 19th,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I know this is controversial. I know there are folks out there that earn a living, you know, on Tiktok, but it has a national security risk to it. You know, one is the data, one of the risks. The thing that I&#8217;m more concerned about is their ability to manipulate the- the population of the United States, especially in time of a conflict. So it was the right decision. I voted for it. And it looks like the Supreme Court is going to uphold the legislation that we passed.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
There could be &#8220;a disruption in the service&#8221; of TikTok in the U.S. when the ban put into law goes into effect on January 19, unless the Supreme Court intervenes, says Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ).
He says he knows the ban is &#8220;controversial,&#8221; but TikTok &#8220;has a national security risk to… <a href="https://t.co/y3LWgIE8gI">pic.twitter.com/y3LWgIE8gI</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1878491501078212889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2025</a></blockquote>

Democratic Senate Candidate Mark Kelly Holds Election Night Event In Tucson

Senator Kelly: ‘Serious Consequences’ Needed For China’s Hack

Mark Kelly

Former Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) said this week that a new study that was released by Rutgers University is important for understanding how communist China brainwashes Americans into not believing that it is a threat.
Gallagher, who is the former chairman of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, made the remarks during a Tuesday interview on Fox News with Martha MacCallum.
&#8220;It&#8217;s incredibly valuable,&#8221; Gallagher said in relation to the study being used to understand why TikTok should be banned. &#8220;I think what was so unique about the initial NCRI analysis that came out in August is they use the metrics that TikTok themselves had encouraged people to explore, to defend themselves. It said, compare our content to content that appears on Instagram, for example.&#8221;
&#8220;So NCRI took that and did to send to the extent possible, an apples to apples comparison and surface extreme anomalies,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There were no differences when it came to pop culture content, for example, but when it came to anything critical of the Chinese Communist Party, extreme disparities started to emerge. So then TikTok predictably trashed that initial analysis and said, &#8216;Well, that&#8217;s not peer reviewed.'&#8221;
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&#8220;So NCRI went back and gathered more data, subjected it to peer review,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;So now we have a more fulsome, more rigorous study that is even more damning for TikTok and it proves what ultimately became the primary concern of Democrats and Republicans in Congress. It&#8217;s not just that the app could be used to conduct espionage against Americans, but it could be used as a massive propaganda platform that can brainwash America&#8217;s youths and propagandize them against America itself.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
WATCH: <a href="https://twitter.com/RepGallagher?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepGallagher</a> raises the alarm on the damning findings from the Network Contagion Research Institute&#8217;s (NCRI) TikTok report:
“It’s just not that the app can be used to conduct espionage against Americans, but it could be used as a massive propaganda platform that could… <a href="https://t.co/jUZMWLY4Ry">pic.twitter.com/jUZMWLY4Ry</a>
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) <a href="https://twitter.com/WarMachineRR/status/1876732550510420107?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2025</a></blockquote>

Rep. Mike Gallagher

Mike Gallagher Explains Impact Of Rutgers Study On Banning TikTok

Rutgers University

The Treasury Department revealed on Monday that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese</a> hackers had breached its systems in a “major cyber security incident.” 
In a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25472754-12/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to the Senate Banking Committee from Assistant Secretary for Management Aditi Hardikar, the department revealed that hackers accessed unclassified documents and employee workstations. The department believed a Chinese intelligence agency was behind the breach. 
“Treasury takes very seriously all threats against our systems, and the data it holds,” the department <a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-hacking-treasury-department-8942106afabeac96010057e05c67c9d5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. “Over the last four years, Treasury has significantly bolstered its cyber defense, and we will continue to work with both private and public sector partners to protect our financial system from threat actors.”
Hardikar said the department did not believe China still had access to its systems.
Hardikar added that the department was first notified of the breach on December 8 by third-party software service provider BeyondTrust that “a threat actor had gained access to a key used by the vendor to secure a cloud based service used to remotely provide technical support for Treasury Departmental Offices (DO) end users.”
This allowed the hackers to override security and gain access to Treasury Department employee workstations and the unclassified documents stored on them. 
The department has since been working with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the FBI, and the Intelligence Community to probe the full extent of the breach. 
“Based on available indicators, the incident has been attributed to a China state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor,” Hardikar wrote. “In accordance with Treasury policy, intrusions attributable to an APT are considered a major cybersecurity incident.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning denied the allegations. 
“We have repeatedly stated our position on such groundless accusations that lack evidence,” said Ning, an official of the Chinese Communist Party. “China consistently opposes all forms of hacking, and we are even more opposed to the dissemination of false information against China for political purposes.”
China has previously been accused of being behind major hacking operations targeting Americans, including <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-based-hackers-accessed-60k-u-s-state-dept-emails-in-microsoft-breach-senate-staffer-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one operation</a> that stole the emails of State Department employees and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-hacks-u-s-telecom-companies-in-major-espionage-coup-against-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hacking major</a> American telecommunications companies earlier this year.

Hacker cyber attack

Chinese Hackers Breach Treasury Dept In ‘Major Cyber Security Incident’

Biden Administration

Cybersecurity

Hackers

Treasury Department

New photos obtained by America First Legal allegedly show that President Joe Biden, despite multiple claims to the contrary, mingled his official business as the sitting Vice President with his embattled son Hunter Biden&#8217;s personal business dealings in China.
America First Legal shared several photos in a thread on X, saying that they were taken during a trip Biden took to the communist nation in 2013 — and the photos show Hunter Biden, who had accompanied his father aboard Air Force Two.
One photo appears to show Biden, then the sitting vice president, as he introduced Hunter to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
/2 These photos shed light on the connections between then-Vice President Biden, Hunter and his Chinese business associates, and Chinese government officials, including President Xi Jinping.
&mdash; America First Legal (@America1stLegal) <a href="https://twitter.com/America1stLegal/status/1871255398172561625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;These photos shed light on the connections between then-Vice President Biden, Hunter and his Chinese business associates, and Chinese government officials, including Xi Jinping,&#8221; America First Legal posted.
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The photos, according to the organization, were obtained pursuant to a lawsuit filed against the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in September of 2022 — and they were set to be released by NARA on October 23, 2024. That release was delayed by attorneys representing Biden.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
/4 Following the Presidential Records Act, NARA had planned to release these photographs on October 23, 2024 — thirteen days before Election Day. <a href="https://t.co/bK0F4Qv9mV">pic.twitter.com/bK0F4Qv9mV</a>
&mdash; America First Legal (@America1stLegal) <a href="https://twitter.com/America1stLegal/status/1871255712946418081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
/6 In 2013, then-Vice President Biden went on an official trip across Asia, including a stop in Beijing, China. In these newly-released photographs, Joe Biden appears to introduce his son, Hunter, to President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China. <a href="https://t.co/chDitOGQIw">pic.twitter.com/chDitOGQIw</a>
&mdash; America First Legal (@America1stLegal) <a href="https://twitter.com/America1stLegal/status/1871256450024321330?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Another photo appeared to show Biden introducing Hunter to China’s then-Vice President Li Yuanchao.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
/8 While they were in China, Joe Biden appeared to make time to meet with Hunter’s business associates at BHR Partners, including its CEO, Jonathan Li. <a href="https://t.co/wapWAH2hVW">pic.twitter.com/wapWAH2hVW</a>
&mdash; America First Legal (@America1stLegal) <a href="https://twitter.com/America1stLegal/status/1871256903860228437?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Other photos included in the thread appear to show the vice president — who claimed to never have met with his son&#8217;s business associates — meeting with his son&#8217;s business associates.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
/10 These photos corroborate the House Oversight Committee’s investigative findings that Hunter Biden arranged for his father to meet with Jonathan Li and other BHR executives during the 2013 China trip, where “Mr. Li sought—and received—access to Vice President Biden’s political… <a href="https://t.co/KEGoURG1In">https://t.co/KEGoURG1In</a> <a href="https://t.co/sJrLMpWdpq">pic.twitter.com/sJrLMpWdpq</a>
&mdash; America First Legal (@America1stLegal) <a href="https://twitter.com/America1stLegal/status/1871258415483265316?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
And as noted in the thread, the photos appear to corroborate the findings of the House Oversight Committee&#8217;s investigation into the Biden family&#8217;s foreign business dealings.
&#8220;Mr. Li sought — and received — access to Vice President Biden’s political power, including, for example, preferential access to then-U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus … a condition of Hunter Biden and his associates participating in the BHR deal,&#8221; the report stated.
The new information comes after President Biden issued a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/liar-liar-biden-pardons-hunter-after-all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sweeping pardon</a> to his son Hunter, covering any federal crimes that may have been committed over more than a decade, whether or not charges have already been filed.

Joe Biden, Hunter Biden

America First Legal: New Photos Allegedly Prove Biden Muddied VP Duties And Hunter’s Business Deals

America First Legal: New Photos Allegedly Prove Biden Muddied VP Duties And Hunter's Business Deals

Hunter Biden

Joe Biden

Politics

Xi Jinping

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas struggled to answer over the weekend why the Biden administration has been unable to stop the ongoing &#8220;Salt Typhoon&#8221; hack from communist China on U.S. telecommunication companies.
Mayorkas was pressed on the issue during a Sunday interview on CBS News&#8217; &#8220;Face The Nation&#8221; when asked about the breach, which may be the largest in U.S. history as millions of Americans were hacked.
&#8220;Why hasn&#8217;t the U.S. government stopped it?&#8221; Brennan asked.
&#8220;The intrusion is a very significant one and an extraordinarily impactful one and an absolutely unacceptable one,&#8221; Mayorkas responded. &#8220;And the president has demonstrated a strong response to the People&#8217;s Republic of China. It is very sophisticated.&#8221;
Mayorkas claimed that President Joe Biden&#8217;s &#8220;strong response&#8221; to the hack was an action taken by the U.S. Department of Commerce against China Telecom.
&#8220;This is an ongoing situation. It is not static,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The intrusion is a very sophisticated one. The telecommunications companies are working very vigorously to remediate it. They are working in partnership with us, with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within the Department of Homeland Security, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies of the federal government.&#8221;
He said that the hack was &#8220;a very serious compromise&#8221; that required a &#8220;very serious action to remediate and recover from it, and also very serious response to it.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
When asked why the U.S. government hasn&#8217;t yet stopped the sweeping Chinese hack of eight U.S. telecom firms, DHS <a href="https://twitter.com/SecMayorkas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecMayorkas</a> tells <a href="https://twitter.com/margbrennan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@margbrennan</a> &#8220;this is an ongoing situation. It is not static.&#8221;
&#8220;The intrusion is a very sophisticated one. The telecommunications companies are… <a href="https://t.co/Q6jadP7oro">pic.twitter.com/Q6jadP7oro</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1870884398851400064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2024</a></blockquote>

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

Mayorkas Can’t Answer Why Biden Admin Has Not Been Able To Stop China’s ‘Salt Typhoon’ Hack

Alejandro Mayorkas

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), who is the incoming White House national security adviser, said over the weekend that the incoming Trump administration is planning to start imposing much tougher consequences on hackers that target the United States.
Waltz made the remarks during a Sunday interview on CBS News&#8217; &#8220;Face The Nation&#8221; when asked about communist China&#8217;s recent unprecedented hack against the U.S., which officials have called the largest breach in U.S. history.
&#8220;We have been over the years trying to play better and better defense when it comes to cyber,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We need to start going on offense and start imposing, I think, higher costs and consequences to private actors and nation-state actors that continue to steal our data, that continue to spy on us, and that, even worse, with the [Chinese hack], they are literally putting cyber time bombs on our infrastructure, our water systems, our grids, even our ports.&#8221;
&#8220;That is wholly unacceptable, and I think we need to take a much stronger stance,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;We need to start changing behaviors on the other side, rather than just constantly having this kind of escalation of their offense and our defense.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
WATCH: Incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz says that the <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> admin is going to get significantly tougher when it comes to dealing with cyberattacks on the U.S., including by going on offense and imposing “higher costs and consequences on private actors and… <a href="https://t.co/pQjOmuMT5m">pic.twitter.com/pQjOmuMT5m</a>
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1868417364997398600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2024</a></blockquote>

2023 Concordia Annual Summit – September 18

Mike Waltz: Trump To Start Imposing ‘Higher Costs And Consequences’ On Hackers

Mike Waltz

House Intelligence Committee Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mike-turner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Turner</a> (R-OH) said over the weekend that President Joe Biden has imposed no consequences on China after the communist nation carried out the largest hack ever on U.S. infrastructure when it breached U.S. telecommunications carriers and spied on Americans.
Turner made the remarks during a Sunday interview on CBS News&#8217; &#8220;Face The Nation&#8221; with Margaret Brennan.
&#8220;You know, one thing that&#8217;s very disappointing and we&#8217;ve seen from this administration, this malaise or this stasis of where they&#8217;re unable to move as a result of the president unable to make a decision,&#8221; he said.
He continued, &#8220;Here, we have this massive breach, this hack that has occurred from China, but we&#8217;re hearing nothing from the president himself, no action from this administration as to what their – what consequences there will be.&#8221;
&#8220;This is not – doesn&#8217;t need just a technological fix,&#8221; he added. &#8220;This needs also a diplomatic fix, a nation-to-nation consequences to China.&#8221;
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&#8220;In the Obama administration, China hacked the personnel management system of the U.S. government, and there were no consequences. And now we&#8217;re seeing China hack the entire system of the nation,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;There needs to be consequences. They can be economic. They can be in a number of ways.&#8221;
He said that there were &#8220;zero&#8221; consequences from Biden and that there was &#8220;nothing coming out of the administration.&#8221;
&#8220;China is our most – gravest threat,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;How do we address the fact that China is aggressively attacking the United States? And they&#8217;re doing that in our telecom.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Rep. Mike Turner says President Assad&#039;s fall in Syria &quot;is a blow to Iran, a blow to Russia&quot;" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a53Sh0pGDi0?start=370&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Biden Impeachment Resolution

House Intel Chairman: Biden Has Imposed No ‘Consequences’ On China For Telecom Hack

Global Politics

Hacked

Mike Turner

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday night that he nominated former U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA) as the next U.S. ambassador to communist China.
&#8220;As a Fortune 500 CEO, who had a 40-year International business career, and served in the U.S. Senate, David brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China,&#8221; Trump said in a statement. &#8220;He will be instrumental in implementing my strategy to maintain Peace in the region, and a productive working relationship with China’s leaders.&#8221;
Perdue has lived in Hong Kong and Singapore and has spent much of his career working in Asia, including China.
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&#8220;In the U.S. Senate, he served on the Armed Services Committee, where he was Chair of the powerful Sea Power Subcommittee,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;He also served on the Foreign Relations Committee, the only Republican to serve on both Committees.&#8221;
Perdue responded to the nomination in a post on X, saying he was honored and appreciated the opportunity to serve.
&#8220;I am truly honored to accept President Trump’s nomination to become the next US Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China,&#8221; Perdue said. &#8220;Having lived in Asia on two occasions, I understand the gravity of this responsibility and look forward to implementing President Trump’s strategy to make the world safe again and to represent the United States’ interests in China.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I am truly honored to accept President Trump’s nomination to become the next US Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China. Having lived in Asia on two occasions, I understand the gravity of this responsibility and look forward to implementing President Trump’s strategy to make… <a href="https://t.co/p0AxaZHQOj">pic.twitter.com/p0AxaZHQOj</a>
— David Perdue (@DavidPerdueGA) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidPerdueGA/status/1864873443927171385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2024</a></blockquote>

Sen. David Perdue.

Trump Taps Former U.S. Senator David Perdue For Ambassador To China

Ambassador

David Perdue

Donald Trump

General

U.S. officials are urging Americans to use encrypted apps to protect their communications after telecommunications companies were compromised during a recent hack from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/communist-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">communist China</a> that is the largest breach in history.
A senior FBI official, who asked not be identified, said during a call with reporters that &#8220;people looking to further protect their mobile device communications would benefit from considering using a cellphone that automatically receives timely operating system updates, responsibly managed encryption, and phishing resistant MFA (multi-factor authentication) for email, social media, and collaboration tool accounts.&#8221;
Jeff Greene, an official with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), added: “Encryption is your friend, whether it is on text messaging or you have the capacity to use encrypted voice communication.”
He added that the breach was so large in scale that it was &#8220;impossible&#8221; to know when officials would have a &#8220;full eviction&#8221; of Chinese hackers from U.S. systems.
The warning from U.S. law enforcement comes after Microsoft cybersecurity experts dubbed the cyberattack from the Chinese government “Salt Typhoon” with “Typhoon” denoting that the operation is Chinese and “Salt” indicating that it is a counterintelligence operation.
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The New York Times reported that the Chinese are believed to have hacked systems used by the companies to comply with court-authorized surveillance wiretaps, including Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act collection, one of the secretive measures the U.S. has to uncover networks of terrorists and spies.
The Chinese hackers compromised the phones of numerous prominent individuals in politics and national security, including top elected leaders.
NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/us-officials-urge-americans-use-encrypted-apps-cyberattack-rcna182694" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the Chinese stole call records and were able to target specific individuals and listen in to live phone calls.
One of the concerns that officials had about the Chinese discovering who U.S. officials were communicating with was that it would give them a list of people to target in influence operations aimed at manipulating decision makers.
Chinese hackers outnumber all of the FBI’s cyber personnel by at least 50 to 1. They are estimated to have up to 600,000 people involved in their espionage operations.
“China’s hacking program is larger than that of every other major nation, combined,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who was nominated to serve as President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s Secretary of State, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-chinas-hack-of-u-s-telecom-companies-most-serious-breach-ever" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last month that the hack was the largest breach he’s ever seen.

China aspiration on Chip and digital Tech circutiry

U.S. Officials Urge Americans To Use Encrypted Apps After Chinese Hack

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