It’s not something most folks talk about over dinner, but it probably should be. While we’re all busy working, raising our kids, and trying to pay the bills, something big is happening behind the scenes—and it’s not good. China is stepping up its cyberattacks against the United States, and our government seems to be asleep at the wheel.
Rep. Don Bacon from Nebraska, a Republican who actually knows a thing or two about cybersecurity, went on national TV and said what a lot of us have been feeling: we’re not ready. In fact, we’re falling behind. China isn’t playing games anymore—they’ve moved past the days of just poking around in our systems. They’re now using Artificial Intelligence to run cyber-espionage operations. That means they’ve figured out how to let machines do the work of hackers—faster, smarter, and with fewer mistakes.
According to Bacon, China has now passed Russia as our top cyber threat. Let that sink in. These are not just isolated computer nerds in basements. These are government-backed operations. Serious stuff. They’ve already targeted about 30 companies in the U.S. using this new AI-driven method. And they’re getting better at it every single day.
But here’s the part that really should make us all angry: while China is attacking, our country doesn’t even have a commander in charge of Cyber Command. That’s right. The person who’s supposed to be leading our defense in cyberspace was fired eight months ago, and no one’s been put in his place. On top of that, the top two jobs at the National Security Agency—our main spy agency when it comes to digital threats—are sitting empty too.
You wouldn’t leave your house unlocked at night, right? So why are we leaving our country wide open to cyberattacks?
Bacon said it best: “We’re rudderless.” That’s a word that hits home. It means we’re drifting. No direction. No leadership. And that’s not how America is supposed to operate. Our enemies see this weakness, and they’re taking full advantage.
This isn’t just about big tech companies getting hacked. These attacks can hit hospitals, power grids, banks, and our military. Imagine waking up one morning and not being able to access your bank account. Or what if a cyberattack shut down your local hospital? These aren’t science fiction stories. These are real threats.
The part that should worry us all is that this isn’t happening in secret. It’s right out in the open. Bacon is sounding the alarm, but the people in charge—the folks who are supposed to be protecting us—are dragging their feet. Why? Is it incompetence? Is it politics? Either way, regular Americans are the ones stuck with the consequences.
We all remember how the government claimed they were on top of things before the big breaches in the past. Target, Equifax, even government agencies like the Office of Personnel Management were hacked. And every time, we heard the same lines: “We’re investigating,” “We’re taking it seriously.” But things never really change, do they?
Now, with China using AI, we’re dealing with something totally new. It’s faster, smarter, and more dangerous than ever before. And instead of stepping up, our leaders seem to be stepping back.
It’s time to stop pretending everything’s fine. The American people deserve better. We deserve a government that takes these threats seriously, fills the leadership holes, and gets tough on enemies who are clearly not afraid to come after us.
Because if we keep drifting, rudderless, there’s no telling where we’ll end up. And the folks in Beijing? They’re counting on that.