China has been trying to find ways to gain access to critical infrastructure in the United States so that it can threaten those systems in the event of a conflict, the National Security Agency director said on Wednesday.

美国国家安全局局长周三表示，中国一直在设法侵入美国关键基础设施，以便在发生冲突时对这些系统构成威胁。

Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, who took the helm of the N.S.A. and the U.S. military’s Cyber Command in February, said that Beijing had stepped up its cyberefforts and that the United States, in response, was working harder to disrupt that activity.

蒂莫西·霍于今年2月开始掌管国家安全局和美军网络司令部，他表示，北京已加强了网络攻击，作为应对，美国加大了阻止力度。

Last year, U.S. officials uncovered an effort by China to gain access to critical infrastructure in Guam, home to U.S. military bases, and in the continental United States. Microsoft called the intrusions Volt Typhoon, after a Chinese network of hackers who often avoided using detectable malware and instead used stealthier techniques to enter wastewater systems and communication networks.

去年，美国官员发现中国试图进入美国军事基地所在地关岛和美国大陆的关键基础设施。微软将这种入侵称为“伏特台风”，取自一个中国黑客网络的名字，他们通常避免使用可检测到的恶意软件，而是使用更隐蔽的技术，侵入污水系统和通信网络。

“What you see in Volt Typhoon is an example of how China has approached establishing access to put things under threat,” General Haugh said at a security conference at Vanderbilt University. “There is not a valid intelligence reason to be looking at a water treatment plant from a cyberperspective.”

“通过‘伏特台风’可以看到中国如何通过建立访问权限来制造威胁的例子，”霍在范德比尔特大学的一个安全会议上说。“从网络安全的角度调查一家水处理厂，并没有合理的情报理由。”

General Haugh said China was securing access to critical networks ahead of a direct confrontation between the two countries. While he did not say specifically what that could involve, other American officials have said that if China gained access to critical infrastructure near military bases, it could disrupt or shut down systems to sow chaos and slow response time to a crisis in the Pacific or over Taiwan.

霍表示，中国正在确保在两国发生直接对抗之前进入关键网络。虽然他没有具体说明这可能涉及什么，但其他美国官员表示，如果中国进入军事基地附近的关键基础设施，就可能会扰乱或关闭系统，造成混乱，拖慢对太平洋或台湾危机的反应时间。

“They are sending a pretty clear signal of how they would use cyberspace in a crisis,” he said.

“他们发出了一个非常明确的信号，表明他们将如何在危机时利用网络空间，”他说。

General Haugh said that Volt Typhoon was part of Beijing’s campaign to expand its global dominance. China, he said, is an “urgent military threat” and is increasing the sophistication of its cyberabilities.

霍表示，“伏特台风”是北京扩大其全球主导地位行动的一部分。他说，中国是一个“紧迫的军事威胁”，并且正在提高其网络能力的复杂性。

Later in the conference, David E. Frederick Jr., the N.S.A.’s assistant deputy director for China, said that the People’s Liberation Army had its “longest arm” in cyberspace and was ensuring it had “attack capability” inside critical infrastructure. Overall, he said, the P.L.A. was trying to develop a modernized force to use against Taiwan by 2027.

在会议的晚些时候，国家安全局负责中国事务的助理副局长戴维·弗雷德里克表示，中国人民解放军在网络空间拥有“最长的手臂”，并正在确保自己拥有对关键基础设施的“攻击能力”。他说，总的来说，解放军正在努力发展一支现代化的军队，以便在2027年之前对付台湾。

General Haugh described it as an unfair fight. The United States had to disrupt Chinese systems inside a closed and restrictive environment. The Chinese, on the other hand, get to operate in the United States, an open society where it is far easier to get access to targets.

霍认为这是一场不公平的战斗。美国必须进入一个封闭和限制性的环境才能破坏中国的系统。另一方面，中国则可以在美国这个开放的社会中行动，更容易接近目标。

The People’s Republic of China, he said, was pursuing a policy of global dominance, but hoped to achieve that without a kinetic, real-world military fight, and is using cutting-edge technologies to achieve an advantage.

他说，中华人民共和国正在追求主导全球的政策，但希望在没有激烈的现实世界军事斗争的情况下实现这一目标，并正在利用尖端技术来获得优势。

“We must recognize this and contest the P.R.C. below the level of armed conflict — particularly in cyber,” he said.

“我们必须认识到这一点，并在低于武装冲突水平的情况下与中国竞争——尤其是在网络领域，”他说。

While General Haugh did not discuss Cyber Command’s operations inside China, he made clear that he was seeking not just to defend its own networks, but also to disrupt attacks against the United States. He spoke broadly of the military’s efforts to upset networks spreading malware and ransomware and conduct operations aimed at “causing loss of trust within the adversary’s cyberecosystem.”

虽然霍没有讨论网络司令部在中国境内的行动，但他明确表示，他不仅致力于保护自己的网络，还在致力于破坏针对美国的攻击。他大致谈了军方扰乱传播恶意软件和勒索软件网络的努力，并开展了旨在“使对手的网络生态系统中出现信任丧失”的行动。

“China is pursuing deliberate campaigns to gain advantage in every aspect of national power,” General Haugh said. “The threat posed by China is real — the P.R.C. has the desire and ability that make themselves our peer on the world stage.”

“中国正在进行深思熟虑的运动，在国家实力的各个方面获得优势，”霍说。“中国构成的威胁是真实的——中华人民共和国有愿望和能力在世界舞台上与我们并立。”