An American lawmaker stated Chinese telecoms hardware maker Baicells, founded by past members of the heavily sanctioned Huawei, needs to be scrutinized by the US government.
“The presence of this company – or any company with known cyber vulnerabilities in their products – anywhere in the US should raise significant national security alarms,” John Moolenaar said in a statement to Reuters.
“The Chinese Communist Party is relentlessly pursuing efforts to export its oppressive surveillance state, and companies like Baicells, despite their claims of security, must be scrutinized rigorously.”
Baicells declined to comment. But it previously said in a statement to Reuters that it does not believe its base stations present security risks and that it is willing to cooperate with any US inquiry.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Baicells has provided base stations and routers to over 700 US networks across the United States, including in sensitive locations close to military installations, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Its firmware has been flagged for cyber vulnerabilities by cyber watchdog CISA, and the company is currently under investigation by the FBI and the Commerce Department over national security concerns, Reuters also reported.
China Keeps US On Toes
The scrutiny of Baicells comes amid growing concerns in Washington about China’s ability to intercept sensitive data, by hacking into telecoms networks, remotely accessing hardware supplied by Chinese companies, or providing Americans with internet access.
US networks have been targeted by a wide variety of state-backed hacking groups around the world, including a high-profile Chinese group dubbed “Volt Typhoon”, according to US officials.
“Companies with ties to foreign adversaries like China, who are intent on exploiting vulnerabilities in our telecommunications networks for espionage, are a dangerous and growing threat to our national security,” said Democratic congressman Frank Pallone, who serves as ranking member on the Energy and Commerce committee.
“I look forward to hearing from the national security agencies investigating Baicells, so we can continue to root out these hostile actors and protect the integrity of our critical infrastructure,” he added.
Shared Sentiments Across Political Parties
His remarks echoed comments made by Democratic Senator Mark Warner, ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who took aim at the US approach to addressing such threats.
While recent high profile Chinese attacks on US telecoms networks hinged on breaches of poorly secured Western equipment, “allowing (China)-linked suppliers into our supply chains and not exercising the necessary scrutiny is counterproductive,” he said.
“The whack-a-mole approach, focusing on the national security risks posed by a single company at a time, is not nimble enough to respond to the threats that we are seeing.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
