‘We’re Rudderless’: Lawmaker Warns That China Is Stepping Up Its Cyber-Threat Game As U.S. Flounders

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) warned on Sunday that the United States was quickly losing ground when it came to cybersecurity — and that communist China was stepping up its game equally quickly and had already “replaced Russia as the most formidable cyber threat.”

Bacon, who currently serves as Chairman of the Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation (CITI),  joined CBS host Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation,” where he broke down the obvious threat following the news that state-sponsored Chinese hackers had already succeeded in carrying out the first Artificial Intelligence-driven cyber-espionage operation.

WATCH:

“China has replaced Russia as the most formidable cyber threat,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) says after Anthropic announced Chinese hackers used its artificial intelligence technology in what the company believes is the first cyber-espionage operation largely carried out using AI.… pic.twitter.com/kPC3W73pLY

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) November 16, 2025

“AI firm Anthropic said that Chinese state-sponsored hackers used their technology to automate break-ins and carry out the first cyber-espionage operation largely carried out using AI, it hit like 30 different companies,” Brennan began, asking, “What can you tell us about the scope and the targets of this attack?”

“China has replaced Russia as the most formidable cyber threat,” Bacon replied. “They have much higher technology, they are using AI, which gives you a lot more capability at finding weaknesses in your adversaries’ cyber-defenses.”

“What concerns me more than anything, while China is attacking us every single day — and Russia — we’ve had no commander in charge of cyber command for eight months,” Bacon continued, noting that the previous commander had been fired but hadn’t yet been replaced. “Also the top two positions at the National Security Agency are vacant.”

“Our cyber capabilities are going backward. We’re rudderless in a time when China is attacking us every day,” he concluded. “That’s something that really concerns me, and I’ve been pushing the White House to deal with this.”