President-elect Donald Trump’s administration plans to explore ways to impose higher costs on individuals and nations responsible for cyberattacks against the United States, said Representative Mike Waltz, Trump’s pick for national security adviser, on Sunday. The remarks follow U.S. allegations of a major Chinese cyber espionage campaign, known as Salt Typhoon, which reportedly targeted senior American political figures and intercepted their phone calls.
The White House has stated that at least eight telecommunications and infrastructure firms in the U.S. were compromised, resulting in the theft of significant amounts of Americans’ metadata. While Waltz did not specify the Trump administration’s response to Salt Typhoon, he highlighted a broader shift in strategy. “We need to start going on the offense and imposing higher costs and consequences on both private actors and nation-states that steal our data and spy on us,” Waltz said during an interview on CBS News’ Face the Nation.
He emphasized the role of the private U.S. tech sector in bolstering national cybersecurity and potentially exploiting adversaries’ vulnerabilities.
In response to the accusations, Chinese officials have dismissed the claims as disinformation, asserting that Beijing “firmly opposes and combats cyberattacks and theft in all forms.” However, the growing tension underscores the challenges of addressing cybersecurity threats on a global scale.
Also read: Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to California’s Emissions Standards
