95
submitted 8 months ago by Rapidcreek@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] Chemical@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago
[-] chaospatterns@lemmy.world 44 points 8 months ago

Fears raised over ‘Chinese spy cranes’ in US ports

There are concerns that the machines are effectively Trojan Horses for Beijing and could be used to sabotage sensitive logistics

Unexplained communications equipment has been found in Chinese-made cranes in US ports that could be used for spying and potentially “devastate” the American economy, according to a new congressional investigation.

The finding, first reported by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), will stoke American concerns that the cranes are effectively Trojan Horses for Beijing to gain access to, or even sabotage, sensitive logistics.

The probe by the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House select committee on China found over a dozen pre-installed cellular modems, that can be remotely accessed, in just one port.

Many of the devices did not seem to have a clear function or were not documented in any contract between US ports and crane maker ZPMC, a Chinese state-owned company that accounts for nearly 80 per cent of ship-to-shore cranes in use in America, according to the WSJ.

The modems were found “on more than one occasion” on the ZPMC cranes, a congressional aide said.

“Our committees’ investigation found vulnerabilities in cranes at US ports that could allow the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] to not only undercut trade competitors through espionage, but disrupt supply chains and the movement of cargo, devastating our nation’s economy,” Mark Green, the Republican chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, told CNN.

The Chinese government is “looking for every opportunity to collect valuable intelligence and position themselves to exploit vulnerabilities by systematically burrowing into America’s critical infrastructure,” he told the WSJ, adding that the US had overlooked the threat for too long.

The Telegraph has contacted ZPMC for comment.

‘The new Huawei’

A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington DC said claims that Chinese-made cranes pose a security risk are “entirely paranoia.”

The US investigation began last year amid Pentagon fears that sophisticated sensors on large ship-to-shore cranes could register and track containers, offering valuable information to Beijing about the movement of cargo supporting US military operations around the world.

At the time, Bill Evanina, a former top US counterintelligence official, said: “Cranes can be the new Huawei.”

“It’s the perfect combination of legitimate business that can also masquerade as clandestine intelligence collection,” he told the WSJ.

In recent years, a handful of Chinese crane companies have grown into major players in the global automated ports industry, working with Microsoft and other companies to connect equipment and analyse data in real-time.

this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2024
95 points (92.0% liked)

World News

39153 readers
1782 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS