U.S. Adds 2 More Chinese Telecom Firms to National Security Threat List

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has added
Pacific Network Corp, along with its subsidiary ComNet (USA) LLC,
and China Unicom (Americas) Operations Limited, to the list of
communications equipment and services that have been deemed a
threat to national security.

The agency said^[1]
the companies are subject to the Chinese government’s exploitation,
influence, and control, and could be forced to comply with requests
for intercepting and misrouting communications, without the ability
to challenge such requests.

The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau further noted
that equipment and services from ComNet and China Unicom could
present an opportunity for the Chinese government to carry out
espionage operations and gather intelligence against the U.S.

Alternatively, they could also provide the Chinese government
with a strategic capability to “target, collect, alter, block, and
reroute network traffic.”

China Unicom also earned a place on the list for being a Chinese
state-owned operator and for engaging in commercial relationships
with Chinese entities that are in violation of “American national
security and economic interests.”

The development came nearly six months after the FCC added^[2]
Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky as well as China Telecom
(Americas) Corp and China Mobile International USA in late March
2022.

Other entities that have been added to the list to date since
March 2021 include Huawei Technologies Company, ZTE Corporation,
Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital
Technology Company, and Dahua Technology Company.

News of the latest additions to the Covered List^[3]
also follows calls from the departments of Defense and Justice to
address weaknesses threatening the security of internet
routing.

“Known vulnerabilities in the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP^[4]), which governs internet
traffic routing, continue to put U.S. person and commercial data
and communications at risk of theft, espionage, and sabotage by
foreign adversaries,” the agencies said^[5]
in a release last week.