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The Pentagon’s 2021 Report to Congress shows the grimmest picture yet of the military and security developments in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The PRC has “intelligentized” its military so that it can conduct simultaneous land, air, sea, cyber, and space operations to fight and win wars against a “strong enemy” like the U.S., coerce Taiwan, counter peripheral threats, and project global power. Its development in space is impressive and includes rocket launches, sophisticated satellite operations (including navigation integration with the Belt and Road Initiative to create a “Space Information Corridor”), and testing dual-use technologies for potential counterspace missions. The PRC’s space developments are integrated with hypersonics, including the recent feats of a missile circumnavigating the globe and then… Read More

The Parliamentary Intelligence Security Forum (PI-SF) gathers international Parliamentarians to improve understanding and collaboration in order to address global security and technological challenges. Founded by former Congressman Robert Pittenger, sponsor of the major reform Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA), CTT founders John Strand and Roslyn Layton serve on its Steering Committee. Over 250 Parliamentarians and advisors met in Washington last week at the National Archives to discuss critical issues such as illicit finance and human trafficking. They also heard keynotes from current Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and former Sen. Larry Pressler and the President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, who described his country’s progress in the transition from a narco-state to becoming the enterprise logistics hub of Central… Read More

Bipartisan bill will close “Huawei” loophole and combat national security threats posed by risky Chinese entities WASHINGTON – China Tech Threat Co-Founder Dr. Roslyn Layton today issued the below statement following President Biden signing into law the Secure Equipment Act of 2021. China Tech Threat has been a leading advocate to ensure the “Covered List” of vulnerable equipment vendors is current and relevant. China Tech Threat and more than 20 bipartisan organizations issued a letter to House and Senate leaders applauding the swift passage of this critical legislation.  “The Secure Equipment Act becoming law is an important step in bolstering the privacy and security of all Americans as the threat of malicious Chinese technology devices deployed in American homes, schools,… Read More

Late last month, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and 16 top Republicans sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, calling for the “strengthening of export controls on semiconductors.” China Tech Threat has written extensively on this topic and asked the Congressman to expand on some of the points raised in the letter. He graciously agreed. 3 Key Takeaways Congressman McCaul believes that Chinese companies SMIC, Honor, and YMTC require additional restrictions. For example, he notes, “YMTC’s reliance on U.S. and other foreign sources of equipment and software make export controls an effective option to mitigate the threats to national security, economic security, and foreign policy interests.”He points to Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology and explains, “technologies [that] are… Read More

Today the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously to revoke the license of China Telecom to provide domestic interstate and international telecommunications services within the United States.  The order is based in part on the April 2020 recommendation of the Department of Justice and related Executive Branch agencies (collectively “Team Telecom”) and reflects a specific  proceeding launched in December 2020 in which the FCC asked China Telecom to address its concerns. While China Telecom is one of the world’s largest telecom providers, its ability to operate in the US is a privilege, not a right, which it lost for failing to honor its license commitments and for presenting unacceptable national security risk to Americans. The action demonstrates that the FCC… Read More

FCC expands Covered List entities and proposes to revoke future equipment authorizations China Tech Threat filed reply comments with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on its secure equipment proceeding and responded to other petitioners’ comments. Below are 4 key points from the filing.  A full copy of the comments is linked here. Selling electronic equipment in the US is a privilege, not a right. Some IT companies have opposed the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on grounds that the proposed regulation would disrupt revenue and enterprise. However, equipment authorization is a privilege, not a right, for entities which uphold the laws of the US. The opening paragraph of the Communications Act of 1934 notes its express purpose for the… Read More

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

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