America is under attack. Our critical infrastructure — the digital and physical systems that sustain daily life — is being probed, infiltrated, and in some cases quietly occupied by hostile foreign powers. If we fail to confront this threat with clarity and resolve, the consequences will be swift, disruptive, and deeply personal for millions of Americans.

Conflict has evolved beyond tanks and missiles. It has evolved silently, creeping through the networks we depend on, where traditional boundaries are blurred, and attribution is deliberately obscured. 

The alarms are already flashing red. The Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Agency, and the FBI confirmed in a joint advisory that Chinese state-sponsored cyber actors are actively positioning themselves inside U.S. networks, preparing the capability to launch destructive cyberattacks against essential services in the event of a conflict or crisis. One such group, known as “Volt Typhoon,” maintained access to segments of our critical infrastructure for at least five years before being detected. 

While Washington debated authorities, frameworks, and thresholds, agents of the Chinese Communist Party were already embedded in systems Americans depend on every day. 

The threat associated with cyberattacks is no longer hidden in ones and zeros; we are seeing real-world examples of how America’s adversaries are using cyberattacks to target our physical infrastructure, steal Americans’ personal data, and undermine our homeland security. In Littleton, Massachusetts, China-backed cyber hackers infiltrated the town’s water and electric systems. These are deliberate attacks on American communities.

And they are not slowing down. Last year, a 

© Washington Examiner