(NewsNation) – Chinese hackers are positioning themselves to “wreak havoc and inflict real harm” on American citizens FBI Director Christopher Wray the lawmaker said Wednesday.

“China’s multi-pronged assault on national and economic security makes it the defining threat of our generation,” Wray said before the conference House of Representatives Special Committee on the Communist Party of China.

Wray emphasized that his comments at the hearing were not about the Chinese people themselves or Chinese-Americans, who “contribute much to our country” and are often “victims” of the CCP.

But when it comes to the Chinese government, Wray said, there has been “far too little focus” on the fact that hackers are attacking critical infrastructure in the U.S., including water treatment plants; the power grid; Oil and natural gas pipelines and transportation systems.

The way China’s government has positioned itself with regard to civilian infrastructure shows that “deep strikes” in the event of a conflict are not just a possibility, but are part of the plan, Wray said.

“The People’s Republic of China’s cyberattack goes far beyond preparing for future conflict,” Wray said. “Today and literally every day, they are actively attacking our economic security and committing mass theft of our innovations and our personal and corporate data.”

“Responsible cyber actors” do not target civilian infrastructure, Gen. Paul Nakasone, outgoing commander of the United States Cyber ​​Command, said in his statement.

“There is no reason for them to be in our water,” Nakasone said. “There is no reason why they should be in our power.”

China has in the past described the US government’s allegations as unfounded. Wang Wenbin, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, even claimed last year that “China is the biggest victim of cyberattacks.”

Last year, however, Microsoft reiterated the statements of those who testified on Wednesday, saying that state-backed Chinese hackers called Volt Typhoon had attacked critical infrastructure in the United States and Guam.

“The observed behavior suggests that the threat actor intends to conduct espionage and maintain access undetected for as long as possible.” Microsoft wrote in a blog post.

Several lawmakers asked questions about the Volt Typhoon at the hearing. Reuters reported On Monday, the Justice Department and the FBI received legal approval to remotely disable parts of the hacking campaign.

“The Volt Typhoon malware enabled China, among other things, to conceal pre-operational intelligence and network exploitation against critical infrastructure such as our communications, energy, transportation and water sectors,” Wray said Wednesday. These are all steps China has taken to destroy or weaken “critical infrastructure that ensures our security and prosperity,” Wray said.

Working with its partners, Wray said, the FBI conducted an operation to disable Volt Typhoon.

Although the surgery is an important step, Wray said there is still a lot of work to be done.

“We need your help for this,” he said. “To quantify what we’re dealing with, the (People’s Republic of China) has a larger hacking program than all major nations combined.”

While budget discussions are ongoing, now is the time to get ahead of the threat by investing in, rather than cutting, America’s capabilities, Wray said.

“We must ensure that we maintain and build on the successes that have enabled us to undertake actions such as Operation Volt Typhoon,” Wray added.

This story is developing. Refresh for updates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.