Kansas Spending on Restricted Technology

State Blog – Kansas Continues to Be at Risk Due to Restricted Chinese Tech

Overview:

Since CTT’s last report in 2023, the state of Kansas spent an additional $305,558 in 2023 on restricted Chinese technology from Lenovo, Inc. CTT also found previously unreported data that shows an additional $55,279 spent in 2018 and $38,500 in 2016. Factoring these updated numbers, the state of Kansas spent a combined $4,025,443 on restricted Chinese technology from Lexmark, Inc. and Lenovo, Inc between 2015 and 2023.

Kansas is making progress:

Rep. Chris Croft, the House Majority Leader, has committed to addressing state contracts with Chinese government-owned technology manufacturers.

The Problem

Technology products by Chinese government-owned technology manufacturers Lenovo and Lexmark have been banned by U.S. military and intelligence agencies due to their connection to the Chinese government and military, but are still being purchased by state government bodies. While federal policy directs information security at the federal level, states must determine their own security standards making states vulnerable to intrusion through the purchase of these risky Chinese technology products and services.

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The Solution

State lawmakers can enact laws and regulations to restrict contracts with Chinese-owned or operated tech manufactures.
As awareness grows among state lawmakers, there is a shift at the state level to take these threats more seriously. Some states, such as Georgia and Florida, already have laws or regulations to restrict contracts with Chinese-owned or operated tech manufactures that can serve as model policies, and nearly a dozen more states currently considering legislation.

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