Chinese cyber operations illustrate how adversaries could gain access to essential US networks well before a military confrontation, retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery warned. Speaking to Defense & Tech by The Jerusalem Post during Cyberweek at Tel Aviv University, he said weaknesses in civilian infrastructure leave the United States exposed to attacks with potentially broad national security consequences.
Montgomery identified power plants, nuclear facilities, water systems, hospitals, schools and transportation networks as vulnerable sectors. Major banks have spent heavily on cybersecurity after facing attacks for decades, he said, but many other industries have not matched that investment. The resulting gaps extend across infrastructure that supports both everyday economic activity and military operations.
Private ownership complicates the challenge because companies operating essential systems may not recognize their national security significance. Montgomery, senior director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation and an FDD senior fellow, cited fiber-optic cables beneath infrastructure as an example of assets whose risks owners may underestimate.
He singled out China’s Volt Typhoon cyber group as evidence of the danger posed by intruders who establish access and retain it for possible use during a crisis. The group has been linked to a covert access network first identified in 2023 that targeted hundreds of victims. Those targets included telecommunications providers, government bodies, defense contractors, satellite services and critical communications systems, alongside water, energy, transportation and emergency services.
Coordinated attacks on those networks could disrupt communications and transport while hampering the movement of military resources. Montgomery’s warning underscored the increasingly close relationship between civilian services and military readiness. He argued that cybersecurity must be treated as part of national defense, with responsibility extending beyond individual businesses or government agencies. “China is more of a threat than Iran,” he said, citing its capabilities and intelligence reach.
Montgomery also pointed to drone attacks during the conflict with Iran as an example of the difficulty of confronting several types of threats at once. He said the United States ended the 40-day war because it could not stop drone attacks on neighboring Gulf countries. While drones directed toward Jordan and Israel were largely intercepted, he said close to 5,000 one-way attack drones struck targets across Gulf Cooperation Council states.
The volume of attacks overwhelmed US and GCC defenses, according to Montgomery, while exposing the expense of countering relatively cheap weapons. “America started the war with a flaw, and we knew it,” he said. He cited the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, costing approximately $27,000 per shot, to illustrate the financial pressures involved in defending against low-cost drones.
Montgomery said militaries need affordable defenses that can be fielded in large numbers while preserving advanced systems for more sophisticated opponents. Despite the increasing importance of drones, he maintained that ballistic missiles, aircraft and tanks continue to have a role. As he put it, “high-end fighting will continue.”
