While not aware of “any specific cyber threat against the Olympics” the FBI added that it’s important that those at the games be “vigilant and maintain best practices in their network and digital environments.”
The warning comes amid rising concerns by US national security officials about Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft — and as intelligence officials have publicly warned that China has created an advanced techno-surveillance state within its borders, blanketed by cameras, facial recognition and other technology.
Counterintelligence officials have long warned that US state and local officials, as well as members of business and academia, who travel to China face the risk of having their personal devices hacked. The FBI routinely provides so-called defensive briefings to Americans it considers to be at risk of becoming victims of Chinese espionage efforts.
“When we tally up what we see in our investigations, there is just no country that presents a broader threat to our ideas, our innovation, and our economic security than China,” Wray said during public remarks at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Monday.
