The Tennessean, Tennessee’s largest newspaper, published a critical opinion piece by China Tech Threat founder, Roslyn Layton.
In her piece entitled “Despite warnings, Tennessee leaders not taking cyberthreats seriously”, Dr. Layton outlines the history of Tennessee to buy into risky contracts with insecure technology vendors, and the impact that that has on citizens across the state.
She also notes that when China Tech Threat made an effort to try to identify more of these contracts and gain a better understanding of where the state’s cyber vulnerabilities lie, the Tennessee government rejected our FOIA request. She calls on state leaders to correct this and assess the nature of the contracts and the impact they could have on residents.
To better understand this real and present threat read our full report on the failure of states, including Tennessee, to scrutinize the purchase of products and services from risky Chinese information technology vendors Lenovo and Lexmark, which have been restricted from U.S. military and intelligence networks for their connections with the Chinese government and military.
Tennessee is not alone in this, and we continue to press state government around the country, including New Jersey and Maine, to provide answers about their spending on contracts with Lenovo and Lexmark. It is imperative we take this risk seriously and act to ensure the privacy and prosperity of all Americans.