GOP Sen. Marco Rubio warned on social media that the AT&T outage affecting tens of 1000’s of Americans pales compared to what a possible China cyberattack would seem like.
“I don’t know the cause of the AT&T outage,” the Florida Republican posted on X on Thursday. “But I do know it will be 100 times worse when #China launches a cyber attack on America on the eve of a #Taiwan invasion.”
“And it won’t be just cell service they hit, it will be your power, your water and your bank.”
Rubio’s warning got here as tens of 1000’s of AT&T prospects reported outages on Thursday morning for his or her residence cellphone, web and cell phone providers, based on Downdetector.
CHINESE HACKERS HAD ACCESS TO US INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ‘AT LEAST 5 YEARS’ BEFORE DISCOVERY
Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida and rating member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, throughout a listening to in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg by way of Getty Images (Al Drago/Bloomberg by way of Getty Images)
The outages began popping up simply earlier than 3:30 a.m. ET, based on a graph proven on the web site that tracks outages.
Most customers, 54%, say they’re having points with cell phone service. More than a 3rd of shoppers reporting being affected say they don’t have any sign in any respect, and eight% of customers say their cellular web is down.
US ALARMED AS CHINA HACKS CRITICAL SYSTEMS: WHAT YOU CAN DO
An individual holding a mobile phone displaying their apps (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
“Some of our customers are experiencing wireless service interruptions this morning,” AT&T advised FOX Business in a press release. “We are working urgently to restore service to them. We encourage the use of Wi-Fi calling until service is restored.”
More than 74,000 AT&T customers reported outages to Downdetector as of 9:30 a.m. ET.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping discussing the nation’s financial and social improvement at a political gathering in Beijing, China. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
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Earlier this month, FBI director Christopher Wray warned that China’s cyberattacks in opposition to the U.S. and its allies are reaching a “fever pitch.”
“You might find your companies harassed and hacked, targeted by a web of corporate CCP proxies,” Wray advised the leaders gathered in Germany. “You might also find PRC [People’s Republic of China] hackers lurking in your power stations, your phone companies and other infrastructure, poised to take them down when they decide you stepped too far out of line, and that hurting your civilian population suits the CCP.”
“China-sponsored hackers pre-positioned for potential cyberattacks against U.S. oil and natural gas companies way back in 2011, but these days, it’s reached something closer to a fever pitch,” he continued. “What we’re seeing now is China’s increasing build-out of offensive weapons within our critical infrastructure, poised to attack whenever Beijing decides the time is right.”
Fox News Digital’s Pilar Arias and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report
