Report

$479,918 Spent By The First State Causes Security Concerns

Posted on by China Tech Threat
In a February interview with Delaware Public Media, University of Delaware professor and cybersecurity expert John D’Arcy discussed the state’s recent TikTok ban for security concerns, including the Chinese government being able to obtain data from Delaware agencies or employees. The First State’s agencies’ and employees’ data is also vulnerable to Chinese theft through the almost half a million dollars it spent on restricted Chinese technology in recent years. China Tech Threat (CTT) recently reported that Delaware spent $479,918 on technology from Lexmark and Lenovo between 2019 and 2022. As reported in our fact sheet, this technology was purchased by the Office of the Attorney General, the DE Department of State, as well as the University of Delaware and other… Read More

Chinese Majority Owner of Lexmark Blocked By U.S Homeland Security Department

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security blocked the import of products made by Ninestar, the Chinese owner of Lexmark International. Ninestar and eight China-based subsidiaries are blacklisted because of their “participation in business practices that target members of persecuted groups” including Uyghurs. Lexmark positions itself as an American company (with a headquarters in Kentucky), exercising independence from the Chinese government. However, as CNBC reported in an analogous situation, “Huawei says it would never hand data to China’s government. Experts say it wouldn’t have a choice.” Dr. Miles Yu of the Hudson Institute further explains their obligation in a 2– minute video here. But while the federal government may ban such products, state… Read More

Alabama is On The Right Track to Protect Data from the PRC

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Alabama’s action to mitigate threats posed by the People’s Republic of China with Senate passage of  HB 379,  the Alabama Property Protection Act, is an encouraging sign the state is taking the threats seriously. Next Alabama should join the growing list of states passing laws to prohibit the purchase of dangerous Chinese technology. In a recent report, China Tech Threat revealed 40 U.S. state governments had entered into contracts to purchase millions of dollars’ worth of Lenovo and Lexmark products. These specific Chinese companies have been banned from U.S. military and national security networks due to their connections to the Chinese government and military. Yet they can access sensitive personal and financial information held by courts, police departments, election boards,… Read More

$18 million Spent On Risky China Tech Causes Security Concerns

Posted on by China Tech Threat
The Chinese spy balloon attracted warranted attention and headlines as its path covered sensitive areas, including travel over North Carolina, which has one of largest military footprints in the country. Another threat that needs attention and action is the nearly $18 million dollars North Carolina spent on restricted Chinese technology.  As detailed in China Tech Threat’s fact sheet, North Carolina spent $17,896,776 on risky Chinese technology from Lexmark and Lenovo, manufacturers already restricted by U.S. military and intelligence agencies due to their connections to the Chinese government and military. The Department of Revenue, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the General Assembly, among other agencies, have purchased this technology making the sensitive state and citizens’ data they manage vulnerable… Read More

House China Hawks Demand Commerce Department Protect U.S. Chip Sales

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Last month, Beijing announced retaliatory measures to counter the U.S.’s trade restrictions on Chinese chips. In response, leaders on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Select Committee on China are demanding the administration ensure China can’t enforce it’s ban and calling on the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to place CXMT on the Entity List. In a June 1 joint letter to Secretary Raimondo, Representatives McCaul and Gallagher wrote: “In response to the United States’ legitimate national security action, the CCP lashed out with an arbitrary economic embargo against one American company. Now, the United States must ensure that this economic aggression fails.” Regarding CMXT, they wrote: “ChangXin Memory Technologies’ (CXMT) products are widely understood to serve military and… Read More

Risky Chinese Technology Purchases Put California Data At Risk

Posted on by China Tech Threat
On May 6, a San Bernardino man was arrested on allegations he stole sensitive information from his Southern California employers intended to aid China. The event is an ominous reminder of the need to remain vigilant to protect sensitive information, and why California needs to take action to stop the purchase of dangerous Chinese technology.  China Tech Threat’s (CTT) recent research uncovered that the state of California spent $2,910,769 on restricted Chinese technology from Lenovo and Lexmark between 2019 and 2022. The technology has been deployed by the state legislature, Office of the Governor, and the Department of Natural Resources, as detailed by CTT’s fact sheet. Key legislative, state resources, and government data held by these agencies is vulnerable to… Read More

CTT Releases No Weak Links Paper Offering Solutions for Keeping U.S. Defense Supply Chains Free of Dangerous Chinese Technologies

Posted on by China Tech Threat
[Read the full white paper here.] One of America’s greatest security vulnerabilities is the U.S. Government’s lack of knowledge of the exact components that go into the weapons and systems American military personnel depend on. Today many items used by the federal government – e.g. smartphones, batteries, vehicles, and weapons systems – contain components with backdoor surveillance capabilities that retrieve sensitive U.S. Government information, or “kill switches” that could enable a foreign adversary to disable equipment while in use or tamper with the device remotely. With the Chinese Communist Party committed to military superiority over the United States, it’s a realistic scenario that the CCP could exploit these vulnerabilities in both peacetime and wartime. Little has been written on this… Read More

NO WEAK LINKS – New White Paper Coming Next Week

Posted on by China Tech Threat
On February 28, Congresswoman Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen asked BIS Under Secretary Alan Estevez, “How many PRC chips are you comfortable having in DoD systems and critical infrastructure?” In response, Mr. Estevez said that BIS focused only on high-tech chips, basically conceding that the U.S. government intends to do nothing to curtail the Chinese legacy chip sector. That means U.S. military systems may continue to rely on semiconductors from Chinese companies. (Learn more at EveryChipMatters.com.) This is a very big problem. Next week CTT will publish No Weak Links: A Strategy for Keeping U.S. Supply Chains Clean of Dangerous Chinese Technologies, a new white paper written in consultation with CTT Special Advisor Nazak Nikakhtar. From 2018 to 2021, Ms. Nikakhtar… Read More

CTT Releases 50-State Analysis of Spending On Restricted Chinese Tech

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Building state policy momentum to stop the spending is encouraging progress  Did your state contribute to the more than $285 million states have spent on dangerous PRC-owned tech? The answer can be found in China Tech Threat’s (CTT) state research and analysis of spending on restricted Lexmark and Lenovo technology that now includes all 50 states. The analysis is being released today as an update to our February 2023 States of Denial vs States of Momentum report on 28 states which showed they have cumulatively spent more than $230 million on Lexmark and Lenovo technology.   Review the full updated report and corresponding interactive maps at www.StopChinaSpending.com. CTT has been tracking this disturbing spending trend dating back to 2020 following… Read More

MN Spending Millions on Risky China Tech Makes State Vulnerable

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Governors in four states have recently signed into law bills to prohibit the purchase of dangerous Chinese technology that has been banned at the federal level. With Minnesota spending more than $4.5 million on this dangerous technology, the state’s lawmakers should follow the lead of 17 other states that have taken action to stop these purchases in recent years.  As outlined in China Tech Threat’s (CTT) fact sheet, Minnesota spent $4,682,925 on Lexmark, Inc. and Lenovo, Inc. This dangerous Chinese technology is already restricted by U.S. military and intelligence agencies due to its connection to the Chinese government and military. The purchasing agencies include the Department of Human Services, the Board of Public Defense, and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities,… Read More