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Federal Government Cracks Down on Cybersecurity as States Remain at Risk

Posted on by China Tech Threat
As the U.S House continues to work through markups of the suggested $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, funding for key issues takes shape. The House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee pushed their respective technology and cybersecurity sections of the package during separate markups. Most notably, the House Homeland Security Committee advanced amended legislation to provide an additional $865 million to expand CISA’s cyber capabilities over the next 10 years after an uptick in cyber and ransomware attacks. The measure includes $400 million to help CISA implement the Biden administration’s cybersecurity executive order from May and $100 million to educate and train a larger cybersecurity workforce. The time and resources that are being spent throughout the infrastructure… Read More

China Tech Threat & Blue Path Labs File FCC Comment on Chinese Tech Loophole

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Today, China Tech Threat filed comments with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on proposed rules that would prohibit all future authorizations for communications equipment deemed to pose an “unacceptable risk to national security.” In June, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry seeking comment on a proposal to prohibit future approvals of communications equipment that pose unacceptable risk to U.S. national security and whether approvals should be revoked from products and services from the FCC’s Covered List  pursuant to the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019.  China Tech Threat’s comments, filed jointly with BluePath Labs, advises the agency on how to ensure the Covered List of vulnerable equipment vendors is current and… Read More

Will Hunt and Roslyn Layton: The Importance of the U.S. Semiconductor Market

Posted on by China Tech Threat
This week, Dr. Roslyn Layton sat down with Will Hunt from Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) where they discussed the importance of the American semiconductor market and the ways in which we can ensure a strong national supply chain policy in the face of increasing national security and economic threats. Hunt is a Research Analyst at CSET focusing on semiconductor workforce and supply chain issues. Earlier this summer, he was featured on a China Tech Threat panel where he brought his expertise to comment on the future of the leadership at the Bureau of Industry and Security. Layton and Hunt had a thoughtful discussion and touched on four major points: US Semiconductor Strengths: Chip Design, Software, Toolmakers… 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

The Infrastructure Bill: A Critical Way to Compete with China

Posted on by China Tech Threat
At a speech on Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted the importance of the Senate passing the $1 trillion infrastructure bill as the U.S continues to compete with China. “The Chinese and Russian governments, among others, are making the argument in public and private that the United States is in decline,” said Blinken. “Nothing would put to rest faster their specious argument about America’s best days being behind us than if the United States made serious investments in our domestic renewal right now.” In February, President Biden told senators that Beijing’s infrastructure investments were far outpacing Washington’s, and warned that without similar investment, “[China is] going to eat our lunch.” The Senate version, passed on Tuesday night, includes $550… Read More

Iowa Tech Purchases Places Critical Infrastructure Agencies in Jeopardy of Cyberattacks

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Just last week, the U.S., NATO and other allies came together to call out China for malicious cyberattacks. It’s the first time that NATO has signed onto a formal condemnation of China’s cyber activities. The authorities  detailed more than 50 different techniques that Chinese state-sponsored actors used to carry out “ransomware incidents and other malicious cyber activity, targeting our critical infrastructure and democratic institutions, as well as exploiting weaknesses in hardware and software supply chains.”  This is not new to us at China Tech Threat. We have been calling out the CPP and state-sponsored actions and technology that put the U.S. at risk. Principally we have exposed 27 states that have been engaging in risky tech contracts with Chinese government-owned… Read More

China Tech Threat Headlines International Event On Global Security Challenges

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Last month, China Tech Threat’s Co-Founder John Strand spoke about the future security challenges at the Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum (PI-SF) at the Latin American Parliament, or Parlatino, in Panama. The gathering brought together leading US Senators like Bill Cassidy and Marco Rubio; the President of Panama Laurentino Cortizo, members of the European Parliament, and international policymakers working in cybersecurity, anti-money laundering, and cryptocurrency  PI-SF is the brainchild of Robert Pittenger, a former Congressman who led efforts to strengthen US policy toward China, notably with the FIRRMA and ECRA bills updating the Committee on Foreign Investment and export controls (ECRA). Pittenger co-authored a paper on reforms at CFIUS with China Tech Threat co-founder Roslyn Layton. Strand’s message was simple: policymakers must… Read More

Introducing High Tech Heist: New Vlog Series on Banking Cybersecurity

Posted on by China Tech Threat
China Tech Threat is pleased to introduce High Tech Heist: Vlog Series on Banking Cybersecurity. In the first of the series, Dr. Roslyn Layton speaks with Tom Vartanian, a former federal banking regulator and author of 200 Years of American Financial Panics: Crashes, Recessions, Depressions and the Technology that Will Change It All. “Financial institutions are the number one target of hackers around the planet,” Mr. Vartanian explains. “And that’s not hard to understand because, as Willie Sutton said, that’s where the money is.” Financial organizations must realize that “the bank is the front door, the backdoor is an endless supply chain of vendors and people suppling everything that bank provides – online services, offline services, physical services,” he adds.… Read More

Cyberattack Hits NY School With US Military Research Contracts

Posted on by China Tech Threat
China Tech Threat has been sounding the alarm over New York’s risky tech contracts with Chinese government-owned technology manufacturers including Lexmark and Lenovo, both of which have been banned by the Pentagon. These concerns have cited why New York, home to the world’s financial markets and high-tech research institutions, is such a valuable target. The latest news that Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a renowned research and engineering school, is the latest cyberattack victim only reinforces these concerns.  An Albany Times Union editorial “High-Tech vulnerability” echoed these concerns writing on the breadth of the threat posed by hackers who have “gotten into computer systems for airports. Telecommunications companies. Airlines. Banks. Health care systems. Insurers. Law enforcement.” In its report that the FBI… Read More

New York Spent Over $28 Million Vulnerable On Chinese Technology. New Procurements Should Close that Door

Posted on by China Tech Threat
The State of New York is home to world’s financial markets, a leader in modern optics and electronics, a hub for biotech innovation, and, soon, potentially the next Silicon Valley of semiconductor design and manufacturing. Those industries also make it a prime target for state-sponsored cyber-attackers. Yet, the state’s procurement policies provide little insight into what, if any, guardrails exist to prevent government purchases from Chinese state-owned manufacturers, whose products may contain built-in vulnerabilities. Recently the New York Office of General Services requested bids for a significant hardware technology purchase, which will likely be decided in the weeks ahead. China Tech Threat contacted the office to understand whether they consider federal restrictions on technology makers and how they weigh the… Read More