National Security

VIDEO: UT Rep. Pierucci Bill to Stop Tech Purchases from CCP-Owned Companies Advances

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Utah State Representative Candice Pierucci is making it a priority to stop taxpayer dollars from being used to purchase technology from CCP-owned companies. In video comments provided to China Tech Threat (CTT), Rep. Pierucci talks about her bill, the Public Entity Restrictions bill (HB 404) that received unanimous support at the committee level and will next be taken up for a vote buy the full House. “I’m running legislation that would prohibit Utah’s official entities, funded by taxpayer dollars, from making any purchases from Chinese-owned companies with technology that could be used to influence and collect data on citizens. It is about safeguarding our taxpayer interests and dollars and making sure we aren’t funding the CCP,” said Rep. Pierucci.Updated research by… Read More

Kansas Continues to Be at Risk Due to Restricted Chinese Tech

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Since China Tech Threat’s (CTT) original report in 2023 on Kansas’s spending on restricted Chinese technology, we have found that the state of Kansas spent an additional $305,558 in 2023 on technology from Lenovo, Inc. also it was discovered that previously unreported data shows an additional $55,279 spent in 2018 and $38,500 in 2016. Our new updated report on spending shows that the state of Kansas spent a combined $4,025,443 on restricted Chinese technology from Lenovo, Inc. and Lexmark, Inc. between 2015 and 2023. We have identified that due to spending that select vulnerabilities in Kansas are the Department of Health and Environment, the Department of Commerce, the State Legislature, and the Board of Nursing. We encourage to lawmakers in… Read More

Wisconsin Looks to Stop Awarding Contracts to CCP-Linked Entities

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Wisconsin State Representative Alex Dallman and Senator Pat Testin are making progress in their attempt to stop CCP influence in the state. On February 7, the pair introduced Senate Bill 1000, which prohibits any public entity from contracting with certain prohibited business entities, including companies owned or operated by the Chinese government. No public entity can enter into a contract or transfer funds for information or technology with such entities. Updated 2024 research from China Tech Threat (CTT) found that Wisconsin has continued to spend money on restricted Chinese-owned technology. Since CTT’s last report in 2023, the state has spent an additional $389,027 in 2024 and $616,772 in 2023 on restricted Chinese technology from Lenovo, Inc. Factoring in the updated… Read More

Nebraska Lawmakers Advance Bill to Protect State from China Threats

Posted on by China Tech Threat
China Tech Threat (CTT) provided expert testimony at a February 8 Nebraska Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee meeting, where the committee heard from Senator Eliot Bostar on his bill,  the Adopt the Pacific Conflict Stress Test Act and the Foreign Adversary Contracting Prohibition Act ( LB 1300). During Senator Bostar’s testimony, he shared, “LB1300 prepares the state’s supply chains and critical infrastructure for the risk of a Pacific conflict that Beijing consistently signals might occur.” Further adding, “Given that Nebraska is the home to Strategic Command and other critical American assets, it is not hard to imagine Nebraska being a target of cyberattacks and other disruptions. We cannot control these global risks, but we can and should prepare for… Read More

2024 State Momentum Update: February 7

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Since our last update on January 23, a number of states have added to the strong momentum with bills to prohibit the purchase of technology by companies owned or operated by the Chinese government. Below is the latest roundup of legislative activity by state lawmakers leading the fight to help protect residents, businesses, government offices, infrastructure, and personal and sensitive data from threats posed by the Chinese government. Utah (New): On January 26, 2024 Representative Candice Pierucci introduced the Public Entity Restrictions bill, HB 404. Among other things, it prohibits procurement of technology or technology services, networks, or systems from restricted foreign entities, including China.  Maryland (New): On February 2, 2024 Delegate Brian Chisolm introduced HB 894 which prohibits an… Read More

AZ Spending on Restricted China Tech Continues, But Lawmakers Working to Stop It

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Updated research at the start of 2024 shows that the State of Arizona continues to spend taxpayer money on Lenovo technology, despite its close connections to the Chinese government. According to data available on the state’s Arizona’s Financial Transparency Portal, the state has spent an additional $648,129 on Lenovo technology already in 2024 and $543,881 in 2023. This additional spending comes on top of the previous spending disclosed in China Tech Threat’s 2023 report and brings the total the state of Arizona has spent on this restricted Chinese technology from Lenovo, Inc. to  $7,012,317between 2016 and 2024. Fortunately, Arizona lawmakers are making it a priority to stop this spending in 2024 and have introduced legislation to prohibit such spending and… Read More

CTT Advisor Steve Coonen Calls Out Failing U.S. Control Regime

Posted on by China Tech Threat
CTT Advisor Steve Coonen—who resigned from the Pentagon in 2021 over the U.S. Government’s totally ineffective export control regime—is up with a piece in The Wire China. Although Congress has been warning since 1998 that American technologies are arming China, U.S. export control authorities have done little of consequence to arrest the flow of American know-how to our greatest adversaries. Writes Coonen: From the export of supercomputers to develop China’s nuclear weapons to the nearly undefeatable hypersonic weapons designed to deliver them; from the liberal transfer of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to the sensors in China’s Great Undersea Wall that can detect U.S. submarines in the Taiwan Strait, U.S. technologies have been vital to China’s military advancement. One would think that U.S.… Read More

Washington Post Report on China Strategy To Target and Influence State and Local Officials

Posted on by China Tech Threat
“The ruling Chinese Communist Party has long had a strategy of using “the local to surround the center” Amidst fresh warnings to Congress by FBI Director Chris Wray about CCP hackers targeting American infrastructure and preparing to “wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities,” a new Washington Post report details China’s strategy of targeting state and local officials to get around tensions in Washington.   The January 30 story examines the escalating risk of ground-level connections undermining national policy or even disrupting the democratic process. New Zealand University of Canterbury Professor Marie Brady, who focuses on Chinese influence operations, told the Post the ruling Chinese Communist Party has long had a strategy of using “the local to… Read More

CTT and FAI Jointly Submit Comments to the FCC on National Security

Posted on by China Tech Threat
China Tech Threat (CTT) and the Foundation for American Innovation (FAI) submitted joint reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet. The proceeding attempts to classify broadband under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act, offering the Commission a set of tools to regulate internet prices and traffic under statues defined for Ma Bell.    CTT and FAI appreciate and agree with the FCC that national security and public safety are worthy public policy goals. The FCC has implemented 72 critical actions to promote national security and public safety since 2017. These items, mostly presented by the FCC’s Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau, address critical issues like equipment safety and integrity, supply chain… Read More

VIDEO: Maine Advances Bill To Stop State Purchase of Restricted China Tech

Posted on by China Tech Threat
China Tech Threat (CTT) provided expert testimony at a January 25 Maine State and Local Government Committee meeting, where the committee voted to advance legislation to restrict state purchase of dangerous Chinese technology already restricted by the federal government. Nine other states have already enacted similar policies, including Vermont which was the first state to take action in 2019. In an interview about her bill, Act to Prohibit State Contracts with Companies Owned or Operated by the Government of the People’s Republic of China (LD877, SP0374) Senator Lisa Keim told CTT: “China is not our friend. They are collecting information and our data for purposes that are not beneficial to us and have been doing it for years. We absolutely… Read More