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The executive director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency flags concerns over Chinese spying via electronic gadgets and other goods.
US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) executive director Brandon Wales has warned Australian consumers to be wary of any technology made in China, saying that Chinese hardware is “inherently suspect”.
“I think that any time that you are purchasing technology from a country that has, as its stated purpose, to burrow into US critical infrastructure and hold it at risk, that technology is going to be inherently suspect,” Wales told The Australian Financial Review.
Wales’ comments on the risks posed by technologies made in China come as President Joe Biden recently directed US authorities to investigate the risks posed by electric vehicles made in China.
However, such concerns are nothing new, nor are worries over Chinese gadgets in general.
National security expert John Blaxland warned of the dangers of trusting in Chinese hardware, saying that China was “in a league of its own” in terms of data collection last year.
“No matter what type of manufacturing is going on inside of China, you can expect that data collected by those companies will be accessible by Chinese Communist Party authorities,” Blaxland told Sky News in February 2023.
“I think we need to assume that our conversations are being listened to.
“You can no longer assume that your conversations are really private unless you have removed yourself from the technology.”
Speaking specifically about vehicles made in China – not specifically electric ones – Liberal Senator James Paterson warned of what China might be able to do with the data it gathers from motor vehicles.
“Certainly, if you are a politician, or a journalist, or an activist or an academic who is working on issues relating to China or national security, then you need to be extra cautious about the Chinese technology devices that you use,” Paterson said in the same article.
Paterson called out the so-called ”Chinese intelligence law” as a particular concern.
The law, Paterson said, “requires all Chinese companies and individuals to assist Chinese intelligence agencies and to keep that covert”.
“The problem that poses is that any Australian citizen could effectively have their data fall into the hands of the Chinese intelligence services and be none the wiser that that has happened.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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