FBI chief claims China has stolen more US data than ‘every other nation combined’

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Christopher Wray has stated that China has 'stolen' more data on US-based businesses and individuals than any other nation combined. The statement by the FBI director came at a meeting of the US Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday, just a day after President Joe Biden met his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, reported Sputnik.  

According to the FBI Director, one of the chief security concerns for the nation's security is the social media app TikTok, owned by Bytedance, a China-based company. TikTok is subject to fall under China's 2017 National Intelligence Law, which requires Chinese citizens and businesses to provide assistance in intelligence gathering and sharing of the collected intelligence.  

China's 'vast hacking program' under US scanner

Christopher Wray, who has served as an assistant attorney general under former US President George W Bush said, "China's vast hacking program is the world's largest, and they have stolen more Americans personal and business data than every other nation combined," reported Sputnik.  

Iterating security concerns of the FBI regarding TikTok, Wray stated that the Chinese government could use the app to control the data collection of millions of users or influence the masses using the app's recommendation algorithm. Moreover, he also cited the risk of software control on millions of devices in the US which gives China the opportunity to potentially compromise the personal devices of US citizens.  

Adding to his statements, Wray maintained, “there’s a number of concerns there as to what is actually happening and actually being done” in relation to whether TikTok is sharing user's data with the Chinese government, the details of which remain unknown.  

This is not the first time TikTok has been under the scanner by US authorities over the suspicion of malicious activities. Former US President Donald Trump had earlier raised concerns regarding the apps and was joined by US Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Mark Warner, as well as the Republican Federal Communications commissioner Brendan Carr, who called on Google and Apple to ban the app from their stores.   

Moreover, both Rubio and Mike Gallagher recently called for an all-out ban against TikTok in an opinion piece that cited allegations on China for the perceived abuses of the app, which can be used to track a mobile device's location and collect Internet-browsing data.  

Meanwhile, certain branches of the US government including the US military have already banned their respective personnel from having the app installed on their mobile devices, reported Sputnik. The statement by FBI Director Christopher Wray comes just a day after President Joe Biden met with China’s leader Xi Jinping in an effort to ease a damaged relationship between the two nations. Reportedly, the meeting was warm but blunt and covered Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, tensions in the Taiwan Strait, and North Korea’s recent barrage of missile tests.