A congressional report has revealed that a Chinese company installed intelligence-gathering devices on cranes operating at ports across the United States, potentially enabling China to spy on American activities and disrupt critical infrastructure.
The findings, from the Republican-led House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the House Homeland Security Committee, highlight that the Shanghai-based, state-owned ZPMC engineering company had pushed for remote access to its cranes, particularly targeting ports on the West Coast.
“If granted, this access could potentially be extended to other [People’s Republic of China] government entities, posing a significant risk due to the PRC’s national security laws that mandate cooperation with state intelligence agencies,” states the report, which followed a yearlong investigation.
The equipment installed on the cranes includes cellular modems that were “not requested by US ports or included in contracts … [and] constitute a significant backdoor security vulnerability that undermines the integrity of port operations,” according to the report.
“These unknown modems were believed to be installed under the auspices of collecting usage data for the equipment,” the report explained, citing contracts and comments from port authorities. “These modems – although not necessary for the operation of the cranes – created an obscure method to collect information, and bypass firewalls in a manner that could potentially disrupt port operations.”
In response to these findings, the committees are urging the Department of Homeland Security to “immediately issue guidance to all US ports to disassemble any connections of ZPMC cranes to cellular modems or any other method of connection to ZPMC,” except where contractual obligations prevent such action.
ZPMC controls about 80% of the cargo cranes used in American ports, placing the US maritime industry in a precarious position of dependence on Chinese-made technology, including “ship-to-shore cranes, container handling equipment, and various other critical maritime infrastructure components,” the committees warned.
Concerns over Chinese-made infrastructure have been prevalent in national security circles for some time, though the issue has gained broader attention only in recent years.
“This [ZPMC] dominance has been achieved through a complex system of state support, including financing from state banks, direct subsidies, preferential borrowing rates, state-backed fundraising, and other nonmarket advantages,” the report noted, adding that currently “there are no domestic manufacturing alternatives” for cranes in the US.
In February, the Harris-Biden administration committed $20 billion to enhance the cybersecurity of maritime infrastructure, with the specific aim of addressing vulnerabilities in the software and hardware of ZPMC cranes, according to the report.
Additionally, the White House outlined a plan to “phase out Chinese-made port equipment and fully return crane making to the United States to deal with 200 Chinese-made cranes at U.S. ports and facilities,” the report continued.
“This bipartisan chorus of concern regarding PRC economic influence — especially regarding transportation infrastructure — highlights the level of concern that this issue has reached within the American policymaking community,” the report emphasized.
However, the Republican authors of the report argued that further measures are needed to reduce American reliance on Chinese seaport technology. They called on the Department of Commerce to initiate a study on “building a US crane manufacturing base” and to develop plans for “the necessary expertise and market consumption.”
They also urged the department to evaluate the global competitiveness of US manufacturing, including port construction and shipbuilding, to bolster the American industry and lessen the dependence on Chinese maritime infrastructure.
In the meantime, the committees recommended legislation that would permit US ports to seek exemptions from “Buy America requirements for purchasing cranes from non-adversarial countries, using federal grant dollars” until the US crane manufacturing industry is sufficiently developed.
{Matzav.com}
