NSA Director Adm. Michael Rogers listens at a Reuters CyberSecurity Summit in Washington, May 12, 2014.
IN PHOTO: NSA Director Adm. Michael Rogers listens at a Reuters CyberSecurity Summit in Washington, May 12, 2014. Reuters/Larry Downing

China can "cripple" the American power grid through cyberattacks and also force power and water grids, aviation systems, and financial services offline, said the head of the National Security Agency to Congress on Thursday, according to ZDNet.

At the House intelligence committee on Thursday morning, Admiral Michael Rogers, who was a senior official at both the National Security Agency (NSA) and United States Cyber Command, confirmed that major systems, such as the infrastructure providing power to houses and facilities in the country could be taken offline by state-sponsored hackers from China and "one or two other countries" whose names he did not mention.

Some nations are undertaking electronic "reconnaissance," he warned. The effort is to be well-placed inside utility systems so that the networks are relied on by chemical facilities, water treatment plants and other critical infrastructure components, which are ordered to be taken offline by a foreign government. "All of that leads me to believe it is only a matter of when, not if, we are going to see something dramatic," the NSA chief said, according to RT News.

There have for long been notes of caution about the catastrophe that could occur if such networks were penetrated by foreign personnel, but Rogers' remarks are worrying because he is not only an important person within the administration, but is also well-qualified to give such a comment. Rogers told the committee that they are watching multiple nation states invest in this, but he mentioned only China as a country that seems to have the power. He did not extend to name other countries, mentioning just that the "information is classified," according to zdnet.com

Rogers is a cryptology expert with a decades-long career in the US Navy. He replaced General Keith Alexander as head of the Cyber Command and NSA in April, just one year after the latter became the subject of the global scandal due to former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden telling the media about secret surveillance programs used by the U.S. and others.

The NSA chief 's comments on Thursday was a reaction to questions from a Republican congressman from Michigan, who is chairman of the House committee and campaigns for new rules regarding both "offensive and defensive cyber operations."

Rep Rogers warned that China's economic cyber espionage is large in terms of volume as well as damage to the U.S. The Chinese intelligence services can act without fear as the U.S. does not have any "practical deterrents" to such a theft. Rep. Rogers has for years been in favour of laws to protect American computer networks and permit the private sector to share information about threats and cyberattacks with the U.S. government. The U.S. has charged many Chinese persons in 2014 alone with alleged cyberattacks and online espionage by the People's Liberation Army. Beijing denied it, and accused U.S. of being the "more active international cyberspy."