FBI Chief Warns of Unprecedented Rise in Security Threats

FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks to lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 24, 2024. Chris Kleponis/AFP via Getty Images

The United States is facing an unprecedented confluence of security threats, according to FBI Director Christopher Wray, who said the agency is deeply concerned about the simultaneous rise in terrorism, cybercrime, foreign election interference, and espionage activities by adversarial powers.

Speaking to reporters from The Associated Press at the FBI’s Minneapolis field office on Aug. 21, Wray said he’s “hard-pressed to think of a time” in his career “where so many different kinds of threats are all elevated at once.”

“I worry about the combination of that many threats being elevated at once, with the challenges facing the men and women in law enforcement more generally,” he said, pointing out the stark statistic that law enforcement officers are being killed in the line of duty in the United States at a rate of about one every five days.

Wray declined to go into detail about any specific investigation or threat but noted that the FBI is concerned about Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft, foreign election interference, artificial intelligence-enabled threats, and terrorism.

He said better cooperation between law enforcement agencies is a key part of confronting the unprecedented security landscape.

Wray said that he hopes that the U.S. tech industry, in particular its developments around cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI), can also play a role in helping to protect Americans from AI-enabled threats coming their way.

The FBI director’s latest remarks build on his previous warnings, including that China-sponsored hackers are poised to hit U.S. infrastructure at any time with a “devastating blow” to induce panic and that the FBI is increasingly concerned about the potential for a coordinated terror attack on the U.S. homeland.

From the specter of terrorism to the growing menace of cyberattacks, Wray’s warnings reflect the findings of several key national security reports, including the White House’s “2024 Report on the Cybersecurity Posture of the United States,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s 2024 annual threat assessment, and its National Counterintelligence Strategy.

Foreign intelligence threats to the United States are unprecedented as foreign adversaries deploy various tactics to focus on a range of possible targets, according to the counterintelligence strategy report.

It warns that the Chinese communist regime and the state of Russia pose “the most significant intelligence threats,” adding that these leading adversaries are working together more often to amplify threats to the U.S. homeland.

“An expanding array of actors are attempting to steal national secrets, sensitive data, intellectual property, and technical and military capabilities, and undermine and disrupt U.S. foreign policy and intelligence operations,” the strategy document warns.

Foreign intelligence entities are actively trying to compromise U.S. infrastructure crucial to health, safety, and the economy, according to the document. They also aim to influence U.S. policy and public opinion, targeting government, commercial firms, defense contractors, think tanks, and academic institutions to obtain sensitive information.

The report on the cybersecurity posture of the United States identifies five key trends, each posing distinct challenges to national security and the country’s broader digital ecosystem.

“Nation-state adversaries” have increasingly targeted critical infrastructure, not just for espionage but as a strategic leverage point, according to the report. Ransomware attacks have also grown more sophisticated, posing ongoing threats to national security and economic stability as attackers have refined their tactics to outmaneuver defenses, it adds.

Moreover, the exploitation of complex supply chains, the rise of commercial spyware, and the rapid advancement of AI presented new risks, the report warns, while highlighting the need for robust cyberdefense strategies.

The intelligence community’s annual threat assessment additionally highlights the ongoing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear threats from North Korea, as well as the potential for interstate conflicts in regions including the South China Sea.