A group of senators, led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), has urged President Donald Trump to bolster U.S. cyber defenses in response to China’s persistent onslaught.
In a March 11 letter co-signed by 11 colleagues, Capito warned that these cyber intrusions have gone unpunished, despite that China-nexus groups have targeted state institutions.
The letter follows reports by two cybersecurity companies, Mandiant and CrowdStrike—both of which have documented an increasing rate of cyberattacks on U.S.-based entities.
Four years ago, Hafnium—a Chinese state-sponsored group known as Silk Typhoon—was a significant player in the cyber landscape. In 2021, it was observed exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities and was linked to multiple breaches of on-premises exchange servers.
“All of these attacks were undertaken with no forceful response by the Biden Administration,” Capito wrote, dismissing a report at the time that claimed the administration had “quietly hit back.”
Capito’s letter, however, asserted that the former president “failed to respond to some of the worst cyber attacks in our nation’s history.”
“Mr. President, it is clear that deterrence must be restored in the cyber domain,” Capito wrote.
She called on Trump to take “decisive action” by “imposing higher costs on adversaries” and upgrading the United States’ defensive and offensive cyber capabilities.
National security adviser Michael Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and Cyber Command Director General Timothy Haugh were copied on the missive.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for comment.
The letter, dated March 6 and addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), argued that DeepSeek, China’s answer to ChatGPT, is “another tool for Chinese spies to attack America’s national security.”
The group emphasized that swift passage of the legislation would bode well for the United States.
“The CCP has made it abundantly clear that it will exploit any tool at its disposal to undermine our national security, spread harmful disinformation, and collect data on Americans,” the letter stated.
The lawmakers said that the chatbot was connected to China Mobile, which is owned by the Chinese regime.