U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s administration will explore ways to impose higher costs on private actors and U.S. adversaries who wage cyber attacks on America, according to Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Representative Mike Waltz.
Waltz made the comments on Sunday, following U.S. allegations of a broad Chinese cyber espionage campaign known as Salt Typhoon, which targeted and recorded the phone calls of senior American political figures. The White House has said that at least eight telecommunications and infrastructure firms in the United States had been affected, and a large number of Americans’ metadata was stolen in the campaign.
Waltz did not specify what the Trump administration would do in response to Salt Typhoon, but spoke generally about the incoming administration’s approach. He said that Washington has traditionally focused on bolstering its cyber defenses, but that it is time to shift the focus to imposing higher costs and consequences on private actors and nation-state actors who continue to steal American data and spy on the country.
Waltz also suggested that the private U.S. technology industry could be helpful in making adversaries vulnerable, as well as aiding in U.S. defense. Chinese officials have previously described the allegations as disinformation, and have stated that Beijing “firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms.”