In recent news, the United Sates has highlighted the dangers posed by certain mining operations deemed to be associated with the Chinese Communist Party. According to a New York Times report, the geographical location of some of the Chinese-tied BTC mines near Air Force missile sites and to the Microsoft data center in the Pentagon prompted security concerns from the U.S. & authorities. While authorities were told that the Cheyenne mine was operating according to the agreement with the local power utility and was not caused by the nearby military or data sites, the reported distributed crypto-mining networks still posed significant threats to national security, given the consequences of an attack perpetrated by foreign entities. Additionally, the DNI reported that even future disputes or conflict could put the U.S. one step closer to becoming subjected to a cyberattack, defining the result as an infrastructure breakdown caused by the growing Chinese-tied extractive activities.
More news circulated about the growing number of Bitcoin “hotspots” producing large crytrpotocurrency mining operations. An active legislation implemented in July 2021 declared land ownership for these interacting commercial operations to be illegal, but statistics continue to indicate a procthetic expansion of these locations. & Given the amount of machines imported from China into the U.S., the Homeland Security Department’s rendered warning about potential disaggregation of the electrical grid surely demanded attention.
Ultimately, it is believed that some of these crypto-mining structures are Chinese-owned and -operated, whilst others attempt a measure of insincerity in following the regional acquis. It is now clear that the deep penetration of cyberthreats posed by said cuoin-mining infrastructures shall no a longer tangible nation-wide menace to America.