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Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, testifies before a House Homeland Security Subcommittee, at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., April 28, 2022.

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China’s cyber-espionage and sabotage capacities are an “epoch-defining threat,” the top U.S. cybersecurity official said, warning that in the event of open warfare “aggressive cyber operations” would threaten critical U.S. transportation infrastructure “to induce societal panic.”

“I think this is the real threat that we need to be prepared for,” Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly said at an appearance Monday at the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C. Easterly was responding to a question about the recently disclosed Chinese infiltration of U.S. military and private sector infrastructure.

The attacking group was dubbed “Volt Typhoon” by Microsoft and was overtly linked to the Chinese government’s cyber-offensive capacities. Easterly warned that in the event of open conflict between the U.S. and China, Americans should expect that similar hacking groups would target pipelines and railways. “It’s going to be very, very difficult for us to prevent disruptions from happening,” Easterly said.

“We, as an American people, need to understand not just cyber resilience but the imperative of operational resilience and the importance of societal resilience,” the CISA director said.

The blunt warning comes at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions. Corporate executives have far less insight into potential Chinese partners or customers than they did even a year ago. Fending off cyber threats from China and Asia has become a top priority for the U.S. government, which has begun to describe in clearer and blunter terms the links between the Chinese government and myriad hacking groups.

Chinese cyber infiltration and espionage have been an ongoing concern for American companies. Intellectual property theft has been used by Chinese companies to reach parity with American competitors.

But the clear and present danger underlined by Easterly suggests that the U.S. government has become increasingly willing to highlight the risks beyond espionage. A disruption of critical pipelines, communications infrastructure, or transportation services could cripple the U.S. economy in the case of conflict.

The Colonial Pipeline cyber intrusion, for example, disrupted airlines and caused gas shortages across the East Coast. That attack by Russian hackers initially cost the company $5 million.

“I think that this is the most important issue for anyone who runs or operates critical infrastructure is that we need to be prepared for disruptive attacks,” Easterly said. “Now, I hope that doesn’t happen.”

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The Street’s bad call on Palo Alto – plus, two portfolio stocks reach new highs

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November 21, 2025

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The Street's bad call on Palo Alto – plus, two portfolio stocks reach new highs

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Govini founder Eric Gillespie released on $1 million bond with Pentagon probe ‘ongoing’

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November 21, 2025

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Govini founder Eric Gillespie released on million bond with Pentagon probe 'ongoing'

Mug shot of Eric Gillespie, Govini Founder and Chairman.

Courtesy: Pennsylvania Attorney General

Govini founder Eric Gillespie, who is charged with four felonies, including multiple counts of unlawful contact with a minor, was released on bail.

Gillespie, who lives in Pittsburgh, posted a $1 million bond after his court appearance Thursday. He is not allowed to travel, and his passport has been revoked.

He was initially denied bail following his arrest on Nov. 7, with the judge citing flight risk and public safety concerns.

David Shrager of Shrager Defense Attorneys, who represents Gillespie, insisted that his client did not break any laws.

“Mr. Gillespie has never contacted a minor, either online or in person, and the facts clearly prove that,” Shrager said after the hearing on Thursday.

“Completely false statements, including the use of artificial intelligence between adults made in the context of an online fantasy chat, are not illegal,” he added.

Gillespie’s next court date is Dec. 18.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office said Gillespie sent lewd photos to an agent posing as a father offering his daughter to be abused, and made graphic comments about sexual acts with children.

Gillespie, 57, commented on the security of the encrypted platforms being used in the chats between him and the undercover agent, according to a criminal complaint obtained by CNBC.

Gillespie is the founder of defense contractor Govini.

He was listed on the company’s website on the leadership page as a board member as recently as Aug. 17, according to an archived version of the page available on the Wayback Machine.

The company terminated Gillespie on Nov. 12.

Earlier this year, Govini landed a nearly $1 billion contract with the Department of Defense. The company’s suite of artificial intelligence-enabled applications is used by every department of the U.S. military and other federal agencies.

Following his arrest, Pentagon officials said they were looking into Gillespie and possible security issues.

CNBC has repeatedly asked the Department of Defense about updates on the status of the probe and potential security concerns with Govini or Gillespie.

“We don’t comment on ongoing investigations,” a Pentagon spokesperson said Thursday.

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Tech stocks set for big losing week as AI names get rocked after Nvidia earnings

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November 21, 2025

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Tech stocks set for big losing week as AI names get rocked after Nvidia earnings

Jensen Huang, NVIDIA founder and CEO, has a Q&A session at a press conference during the APEC CEO summit on October 31, 2025 in Gyeongju, South Korea.

Woohae Cho | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Even Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang couldn’t save the tech and artificial intelligence trade this week.

The chip giant’s talismanic leader trumpeted “off the charts” chip sales and dismissed talk of an “AI bubble,” and for a while, the tide lifted all boats.

“There’s been a lot of talk about an AI bubble,” Huang said during an earnings call this week. “From our vantage point, we see something very different.”

The buzz from the blowout report quickly reversed, sending the AI winners deeply into the red — and few beneficiaries were left unscathed.

Every member of the Magnificent 7, except for Alphabet, was tracking for a losing week, with Nvidia, Amazon and Microsoft staring down the biggest losses.

Amazon and Microsoft have led the group’s drop lower, falling about 6% this week. Meanwhile, Alphabet has gained nearly 8%. The search giant is also the only megacap of the group on pace for November gains thanks to a boost from the launch of Gemini 3.

Oracle, which is another major Nvidia customer, slumped about 10%. The chipmaker also supplies major model developers such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

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Chip stocks have also declined amid the broader tech market turmoil. Advanced Micro Devices and Micron were on pace for 17% losses. Marvell Technology has slumped about 10%. Quantum computing stocks Rigetti, IonQ and D-Wave have dropped at least 10%

CoreWeave, which buys and rents out Nvidia’s chips in data centers, initially soared on the chipmaker’s earnings report, but swiftly reversed course. The company’s stock is looking at an 8% blow this week.

AI fever was cooling in the runup to Nvidia’s earnings report on Wednesday, and investors looked to the print to alleviate fears that the AI bubble was on shaky ground. Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, the stock has helped power the market to new all-time highs.

But concerns have mounted in recent weeks as tech stocks hit stretched valuations.

Major investors, including Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio told CNBC Thursday that the market is definitely in a bubble.

Much of the worries have stemmed from a boom in capital expenditures spending to support AI, with few signs of a payoff in view for many of the players.

Investor Michael Burry recently accused some of the biggest cloud and infrastructure providers of understating depreciation expenses and estimating a longer life cycle for their chips, calling it “one of the more common frauds of the modern era.”

Earlier this month, Burry revealed bets against Nvidia and Palantir.

Shares of the software analytics company, which supplies AI tools to the government and businesses, are down 11% this week. The stock has shed nearly a quarter of its value this month.

WATCH: Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio: We are definitely in a bubble, but that doesn’t mean you should sell

Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio: We are definitely in a bubble, but that doesn't mean you should sell

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