Economic Security

UPDATED: Chinese Conditions on SK Hynix-Intel Deal Demands CFIUS Re-Review

Posted on by China Tech Threat
This is an updated version of a previous post found here. Stipulation to “Help a Third Party Competitor” Enter the Market Requires New Investigation Thousands of words have been spilled by China Tech Threat and our allies demonstrating that semiconductor design and manufacture are among the U.S.’ most important strategic assets. The National Counterintelligence and Security Center recently reaffirmed this by identifying semiconductors as one of five “technologies that may determine whether America remains the world’s leading superpower or is eclipsed by strategic competitors in the next few years.” (See the NCSC fact sheet here.) Accordingly, no one was surprised when CFIUS reviewed the sale of Intel’s NAND memory and storage unit to South Korean-based SK Hynix. As you will… Read More

Chinese Conditions on SK Hynix-Intel Deal Demands CFIUS Re-Review

Posted on by China Tech Threat
See updated version of this story here. Stipulation to “Help a Third Party Competitor” Enter the Market Requires New Investigation Thousands of words have been spilled by China Tech Threat and our allies demonstrating that semiconductor design and manufacture are among the U.S.’ most important strategic assets. The National Counterintelligence and Security Center recently reaffirmed this by identifying semiconductors as one of five “technologies that may determine whether America remains the world’s leading superpower or is eclipsed by strategic competitors in the next few years.” (See the NCSC fact sheet here.) Accordingly, no one was surprised when CFIUS reviewed the sale of Intel’s NAND memory and storage unit to South Korean-based SK Hynix. As you will recall, the purpose of… Read More

Semiconductors: Experts Weigh How US-EU Can Beat China

Posted on by China Tech Threat
China Tech Threat co-founder Dr. Roslyn Layton joined Horizon Advisory’s Emily de La Bruyère and the National Security Institute’s David Hanke for a discussion on How the U.S. and E.U. Can Win Against China hosted by the Octavian Report and moderated by its Editorial Director Sam Munson. The panel discussed a trans-Atlantic strategy to address China’s malicious practices, growing militarization, and capturing of global connectivity. Layton highlighted the need for the US to uphold the same standards it demands of the European Union (EU), citing the case in which the US requested Dutch semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME)provider ASML not to supply sensitive chipmaking tools to the Chinese military fab SMIC, which the US subsequently put on the Entity List, which… Read More

“The Chinese are in a Massive Campaign in Collecting Data”: Part II of Vlog Series on Banking Cybersecurity

Posted on by China Tech Threat
In the second vlog of our High Tech Heist Series on Banking Cybersecurity, Dr. Roslyn Layton sat down with Congressman Robert Pittenger to discuss the growing threat of Chinese data collection and the ways in which we can prevent rising technology issues. From 2013-2018, Congressman Pittenger represented the Charlotte, NC area, the country’s second-largest banking center by assets. At the time, he served as Chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, and as Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance. Congressman Pittenger was a lead author of the 2018 Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), which reformed the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to crack… Read More

Bank of American spends over $1 billion on Cybersecurity

Posted on by China Tech Threat
In an interview earlier this month, Brian Moynihan, CEO at Bank of America, discussed the doubling of cybersecurity spending by the bank since he began as CEO. He noted that, “I became CEO 11 and a half years ago, and we probably spent three to $400 million [per year] and we’re up over a billion now.” A recent barrage of cyber-attacks across a variety of key industries in the U.S. has placed a new sense of urgency on protecting against cybercrime. Back in May, Cathy Bessant, Chief Operations and Technology Officer at Bank of America, gave a stark warning about cyberattacks on U.S. financial institutions saying, “There’s no question that the rate and pace of attacks, and the nature of… Read More

Let the Chips Fall at BIS? Highlights Challenges, Opportunities for Biden Nominee

Posted on by China Tech Threat
President Biden’s nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) will need to advance offensive and defensive measures to curtail China’s ambitions to dominate modern technology markets. That was among the participants’ recommendations during today’s virtual roundtable, “Let the Chips Fall at BIS?” The event, hosted by Dr. Roslyn Layton, featured Emily de La Bruyère, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; Stephen Ezell, Vice President of Global Innovation Policy at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation; and Will Hunt, Research Analysist at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology. The event coincided with the release of the White House’s 100-day supply chain review report. Among the findings, the report highlights the… Read More

“China Has Figured Out How to Weaponize America’s Advantages”

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Just Announced: FDD’s Emily de La Bruyère to Join Tomorrow’s Webinar. The outcome of the U.S. and China vying for control over modern technology markets will be decided within months or years, not decades, say Emily de La Bruyère and Nathan Picarsic, senior fellows with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). ***Two weeks ago, Mr. Picarsic and Ms. de La Bruyère co-published a study, “Defusing Military-Civil Fusion: The Need to Identify and Respond to Chinese Military Companies.” Now Ms. de La Bruyère will join Dr. Roslyn Layton, Stephen Ezell and Will Hunt for tomorrow’s online panel discussion, “Let the Chips Fall at BIS?” Register for the event here. While there is growing consensus about the need to counter China’s… Read More

Cyber-attacks on the Rise Warns Bank of America Chief Technology Officer

Posted on by China Tech Threat
This week, Cathy Bessant, Chief Operations and Technology Officer at Bank of America gave a stark warning about cyberattacks on U.S. financial institutions saying, “there’s no question that the rate and pace of attacks, and the nature of attacks, has grown dramatically.” “Criminals are by definition very crafty, very entrepreneurial – and times of stress produce opportunities,” Bessant told journalists during a virtual briefing Monday. The company’s centralized global information-security unit has boosted spending in recent years to about US$1bil. Further, about 64% of finance executives expect cybersecurity budgets to keep rising, a separate Deloitte survey showed. Earlier this year, China Tech Threat published a report showing that cyber-attacks against financial organizations are growing in frequency and severity and U.S.… Read More

Roslyn Layton Tells Voices of America The Importance of Securing the Semiconductor Industry in Both the Long and Short Term

Posted on by China Tech Threat
During President Biden hosted a virtual meeting with leaders of some of the country’s biggest companies impacted by a global shortage of semiconductors, on April 12, he noted that the U.S must find a way to “strengthen our domestic semiconductor industry and secure the American supply chain.”  This meeting and the President’s urgency on this matter is commendable. However, in an article published by Voice of America White House Bureau Cheif Steve Herman, Roslyn Layton made it clear that the short-term issue of a shortage of semiconductors for the automotive industry should not be confused with the larger, existential problem that the United States does not produce enough of its own chips. Dr. Layton went on to say that there… Read More

Exclusive Interview: Potential Commerce Under Secretary Nominee Analyzes Vital Bureau

Posted on by China Tech Threat
China has a clear mission to achieve global military supremacy and is prepared to build, buy, siphon, or steal the latest and greatest tech to get there. When we’re dealing with China, it’s not business as usual, and we need to be vigilant to make sure sensitive technologies in particular are directed to their intended uses and don’t fall into rogue military hands. As the U.S. looks at policy levers to protect our leadership and interests, a little known bureau within the Department of Commerce called the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is on the front lines for strategic trade control. In recent weeks, the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times have speculated about who will lead the 450-person… Read More