Senators Highlight National Security Threats From China During Rare Public Hearing; China Has Stolen Enough Data to Compile a 'dossier' on Every American

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Senators highlight national security threats from China during rare public hearing:

The Senate Intelligence Committee held a rare public hearing Wednesday afternoon to stress increasing threats posed by China to U.S. national security, with one top senator describing the situation as a “horror show.”

The threats, according to the officials, include Chinese counterintelligence activities such as cyberattacks against U.S. companies and critical organizations, malign influence and stealing billions of dollars in U.S. intellectual property.

“The Intelligence Committee ... doesn’t normally hold open hearings, but Vice Chairman [Marco] Rubio [R-Fla.] and I believe this story needs to get out to the American public,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) testified at a committee hearing on Chinese threats Wednesday.

Rubio also strongly stressed the need to confront China on its efforts to undermine the U.S., particularly on technological issues.

“The members of this committee on a regular basis review some of the most sensitive intelligence, both intelligence and the products that come from them, that this government has available to it,” Rubio testified. “So I think it should send a powerful message when you see that on issue after issue relating to China ... that it is members of this committee that you see in the lead.”

“Members of this committee, because of the role they play, have a very unique insight into this horror show that is playing out in the 21st century,” Rubio stressed. “The long arm of China is not some futuristic threat, it’s already here.”

The hearing was held as tensions between the U.S. and China have ramped up in recent years on a number of fronts. --->READ MORE HERE

China has stolen enough data to compile a 'dossier' on every American:

Top national security officials for former President Donald Trump are sounding the alarm about China's illicit pursuit of data through cyber theft and other means, with one warning the sensitive information is enough for them to put together a “dossier” on every American adult.

Matthew Pottinger, a former Trump deputy national security adviser, warned during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Wednesday that China was looking to use the data it had stolen from the United States and worldwide to influence and coerce everyone from political leaders to private citizens.

“Assembling dossiers on people has always been a feature of Leninist regimes, but Beijing’s penetration of digital networks worldwide, including using 5G networks … has really taken this to a new level,” Pottinger said. “So, the Party now compiles dossiers on millions of foreign citizens around the world, using the material that it gathers to influence, target, intimidate, reward, blackmail, flatter, humiliate, and ultimately divide and conquer.”

Pottinger added: “Beijing’s stolen sensitive data is sufficient to build a dossier on every single American adult and on many of our children too, who are fair game under Beijing’s rules of political warfare.”

Last month, the U.S. and its allies blamed China’s Ministry of State Security for the massive hack against Microsoft, with the Justice Department also charging members of the Chinese intelligence agency over a separate global espionage campaign. --->READ MORE HERE

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China's Cyber Thievery Could Build 'Dossier' on Every American: Official

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