It is another round of Chinese phobia in the USA. Admiral Mike Rogers, the director of the US National Security Agency, has warned China has the ability to invade and possibly shut down computer systems of US power utilities, aviation networks and financial companies, according to Reuters.
Last year, in March, the US had forbid several government agencies from buying products from industry giants Huawei and ZTE.
This was a result of a report by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, that said that the two companies “cannot be trusted” for critical infrastructure systems given their relationships with the Chinese government.
“We have serious concerns about Huawei and ZTE, and their connection to the communist government of China,” committee chairman Mike Rogers said. “China is known to be the major perpetrator of cyber espionage, and Huawei and ZTE failed to alleviate serious concerns throughout this important investigation….We warn US government agencies and companies considering using Huawei and ZTE equipment in their networks to take into account the affect [sic] if [sic] could have on our national security.”
Now, Rogers says that the digital attackers have been able to penetrate such systems and perform "reconnaissance" missions to determine how the networks are put together, according to Reuters.
"What concerns us is that access, that capability, can be used by nation-states, groups or individuals to take down that capability," he said.
Rogers said China was one of the countries with that capability, but that there were others.
"There's probably one or two others," he said, declining to elaborate in a public setting.
US Intelligence agencies had prepared adverse reports against Chinese telcom majors Huawei and ZTE. |