National Security

Preview: China Tech Threat Report Urges Banks to Avoid Chinese Government IT to Defend Against State-Sponsored Cyber-Attacks

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Cyber-attacks against financial organizations are growing in frequency and severity and U.S. banks are the most targeted, an upcoming White Paper by Dr. Roslyn Layton finds. A complex thicket of government agencies and regulation has been largely ineffective in curbing cyber threats. In 2015, U.S. financial services were targeted about four times more than other industries. By 2019, financial firms experienced about 300 times more cyber-attacks than other companies. “U.S. banks and financial service providers cannot rely solely on the government to combat state-sponsored cyber-security threats,” the report notes. “Policy analyses must face the stark reality that cyber-attacks are growing faster and larger than the execution of government actions to address them.” Instead, financial services companies should proactively work to… Read More

5G Security Challenges Webinar: “Lenovo is more Chinese than Huawei”

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Last week, the Parliamentary Intelligence-Security forum (PI-SF) held a webinar titled “5G Security Challenges.” The second in the 5G security series, Congressman Robert Pittenger hosted a lively conversation featuring U.S. political leaders and European lawmakers to discuss the growing threat from China’s 5G ambitions. One major takeaway from the event was that we must be aware of the dangers of Chinese technolgy, not just from Huawei, but from companies such as Lenovo, GE and Motorola. As one panelist put it, “The Chinese Communist Party is hiding behind its vendors.” The webinar featured former Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI), Hon. Jason Boswell, Head of Security for the Network and Product Solutions Department at Ericsson, and Hon. Sohan Dasguspta, Deputy Counsel for the… Read More

Importance of Crucial BIS Post in International Spotlight

Posted on by China Tech Threat
During the past week top international newspapers have noted the vital importance of President Biden’s choice to head the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). The 450-person agency “oversees the nation’s export-control rules, giving it a big role in deciding which technologies are exported to China…” The Wall Street Journal said the pick will “offer clues to how the White House will address security risks posed by Chinese tech companies.” At the same time, the Financial Times wrote that the “once low-profile post… has emerged as a as a key battleground for China hawks in Washington who want to push Joe Biden to take a hard line on technology exports to Beijing.” Two candidates have emerged as possible… Read More

USCC Eyes China’s Tech Rise with Concern

Posted on by China Tech Threat
On Thursday January 28, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) held a hearing entitled “U.S.-China Relations at the Chinese Communist Party’s Centennial.” In the first public hearing during Joe Biden’s administration, the council held three different panels to address the ways in which the US-China dynamic will evolve as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enters its 100th year. In their opening remarks, co-chairs Carolyn Bartholomew and Roy Kamphausen emphasized the need for American decision makers to “successfully address the generational challenge that China poses.” In relation to technology and China’s vision, all witnesses made a clear statement: technology is central to the CCP vision and the technological arms race with the US will not slow without serious US… Read More

Cyber-Attacks on U.S. Banks Are Immense—and Growing

Posted on by China Tech Threat
The U.S. financial services industry is one of the most targeted sectors by cyber-attackers and those attacks are escalating quickly in number and sophistication. In 2015, a report by Websense Security Labs found that banks and other financial institutions were targeted by cyber-attacks four times more often than companies in other industries. In 2019, the financial services firms experienced 300 times more attacks than their counterparts in other sectors, according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. “America is grappling with a cyber insurgency and our financial sector is the number one target,” Tom Kellermann, who served on a cybersecurity commission ordered by President Obama, testified before Congress last June. “Although the sector is generally more… Read More

Lincoln Network Event: US to experience severe industrial loss without US Semiconductor Policy

Posted on by China Tech Threat
On January 22, the Lincoln Network hosted a panel titled “The Future of U.S. Semiconductor Policy: Answering the China Chip Challenge.” Panelists included China Tech Threat Co-Founder Dr. Roslyn Layton, Stephen Ezell, Vice-President, Global Innovation Policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), Dr. James Mulvenon, Director of Intelligence Integration at SOSi and Dan Lips, Director of Cyber and National Security at Lincoln Network. In the most critical part of the conversation, host Alexiaa Jordan commended Dr. Layton for clearly stating the steps the US can take in order to secure their policy, as well as naming the companies that this policy must address. In a follow up to this, Dr. Mulvenon noted that when US export control policy… Read More

Chinese ‘Advanced Persistent Threats’ Have U.S. Companies and Consumers in Their Crosshairs

Posted on by China Tech Threat
The People’s Republic of China is ramping up cyber-attacks against the United States—and not just against government agencies, but U.S. businesses and consumers as well. “For too long, U.S. networks and data have been exposed to cyber threats based in China which are using that data to give Chinese firms an unfair competitive advantage in the global marketplace,” acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf said in an advisory to U.S. businesses last month. The advisory notes that China’s Data Security Law of 2020 “represents an even greater shift in the [Chinese Communist Party’s] attitude away from protecting Chinese data systems as a defensive mechanism, and toward collecting data as an offensive act.” A 2017 intelligence law requires Chinese companies… Read More

Listen: Dr. Roslyn Layton and Dr. Jim Lewis on CSIS’ ChinaPower Podcast

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, China Tech Threat founder Roslyn Layton joined Bonnie Glaser and Jim Lewis on the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) ChinaPower podcast. Ms. Glaser is the senior advisor for Asia at CSIS and host of the ChinaPower podcast. Dr. Lewis is senior vice president and director of the Strategic Technologies Program at CSIS. China’s ambitions to dominate the global tech markets, coupled with its Military-Civil Fusion strategy, present a unique challenge to U.S. policymakers. Chief among those, notes Ms. Glaser, is striking the right balance between protecting dual-use technologies and fostering continued demand for American-made products, which will help continue to drive innovation. Despite controls on semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME), U.S.-born products… Read More

Hudson Institute: The Importance of the Defense Industrial Base

Posted on by China Tech Threat
On January 14, The Hudson Institute hosted a virtual discussion entitled “A Discussion on the Defense Industrial Base with Government Leaders.” The panel featured leaders from the Defense Department including Ellen Lord, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and Robert Work, Former Deputy Secretary of Defense. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and Bryan Clark, Senior Fellow & Director, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at Hudson Institute, also joined the conversation that was moderated by Jeb Nadaner, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, Office of the Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment at the U.S. Department of Defense. From the outset, the theme of the conversation centered on the need to address threats to our defense… Read More

ITIF: Should the U.S. Accept China’s Economic and Tech Rise?

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Last week the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) hosted a roundtable discussion focused on a key question: Should the United States accept China’s economic and technological rise? Especially as the incoming Biden-Harris administration prepares to take office, America’s response to China will shape leaderships roles well into the future. Jennifer Ruben wrote in the Washington Post late last month that “the ‘reformist’ wing is carrying the day when it comes to [President-elect Biden’s] China policy.” “Our position will be much stronger when we build coalitions of like-minded partners and allies to make common cause with us in defense of our shared interests and values,” President-elect Biden said during a speech on December 28. During the ITIF roundtable, participants roundly… Read More