China is hijacking American technology in preparation for “cyber battles of the future,” Sen. Marco Rubio warned Tuesday.
“Foreign adversaries are seeking to lay the groundwork for the cyber battles of the future by embedding their technologies in systems we depend on,” the Florida Republican said. “The United States and our allies must take proactive steps to deny the Chinese government and Communist Party access to our networks, sensitive data, and the personal information of the American people.”
Chinese technology companies have been in the crosshairs of American lawmakers and regulators in recent months. The officials are particularly concerned about the risk that Chinese telecommunications technology could be incorporated into U.S. systems, creating the potential for cyberattacks and other forms of surveillance.
“I urge state and local governments to reject the temptation of low-cost Chinese equipment that comes with very long strings attached,” Rubio added.
He offered that warning one day after the Trump administration banned U.S. companies from selling technology to ZTE, a Chinese telecom company that provides smartphones for companies such as Verizon and AT&T. The Commerce Department accused ZTE of lying repeatedly to the federal government after being caught selling technology to Iran and North Korea, in violation of international sanctions.
“ZTE made false statements to the U.S. Government when they were originally caught and put on the Entity List, made false statements during the reprieve it was given, and made false statements again during its probation,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Monday. “ZTE misled the Department of Commerce. Instead of reprimanding ZTE staff and senior management, ZTE rewarded them. This egregious behavior cannot be ignored,”
Rubio celebrated that decision, which came in concert with the United Kingdom warning British companies not to buy ZTE systems. The ban came just weeks after the Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai proposed a regulation that would bar U.S. telecom companies from using federal subsidies to purchase Chinese technology.
“Hidden ‘back doors’ to our networks in routers, switches — and virtually any other type of telecommunications equipment — can provide an avenue for hostile governments to inject viruses, launch denial-of-service attacks, steal data, and more,” Pai said in March.
That proposed regulation was drafted in response to congressional alarm about Huawei, another Chinese telecom company that the House Intelligence Committee suspects — along with ZTE — of “provid[ing] Chinese intelligence services access to telecommunication networks” and other cyber-espionage opportunities.
Huawei denies any wrong-doing.
“We pose no security threat in any country,” the company said in an April statement to the Washington Examiner. “US authorities should not base major legislative decisions on speculation and rumor. Our products and solutions are trusted in more than 170 countries and regions. In 30 years, not a single operator has experienced a security issue with our equipment. This includes US operators.”
