Articles

Data security risks threaten approval of Chinese undersea cable…

lead centered=”no”The US government’s “Team Telecom” wants to partially deny a proposed undersea cable connection between the US and Hong Kong over surveillance, data theft concerns./lead

On June 17, the intergovernmental group known as Team Telecom filed on behalf of the Executive Branch a recommendation to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to partially deny an undersea cable system application by a Chinese company called Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN). Team Telecom (recently renamed as the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector) consists of the Department of Homeland Security )DOH) and the Department of Defense (DOD) led by the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Foreign Investment Review Section. In its filing Team Telecom specifically urged the commission to reject that part of the application that involves a direct connection between the US and Hong Kong.

The rationale for the recommended rejection echoes similar recent moves by the Trump Administration to push Chinese technology out of the US telecommunications system and power grid supply chains. The White House, along with Team Telecom, has stepped up its arguments that China poses a digital and technology security threat, a contention that is occurring against a backdrop of soured trade negotiations and a politically deteriorating relationship between the US and China.

This article appeared in CSO Online. To read the rest of the article please visit here.

Articles

Senate subcommittee blasts FCC and Team Telecom approach to…

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A report claims that oversight of Chinese telecoms for security threats to the US communications supply chain is lacking and without adequate authority.
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The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released on Tuesday a report, “Threats to US Networks: Oversight of Chinese Government-owned Carriers.” The document slams the current government review process that oversees how Chinese telecom companies operate in the United States for not rigorously monitoring Chinese tech providers. It outlines a Senate investigation that began shortly after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in May 2019 denied a China Mobile USA application to provide international telecom services.

The subcommittee said it reviewed more than 6,400 pages of documents and conducted more than ten interviews, including interviews with representatives from the FCC, Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), China Telecom Americas, China Unicom Americas, ComNet, AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink. The subcommittee also said it met with researchers who analyzed the Chinese government’s use of telecommunications carriers to hijack communications.

The subcommittee’s investigation found that the FCC and “Team Telecom,” a formerly informal group composed of representatives from the DOJ, DHS and Department of Defense, have failed to adequately monitor three Chinese government-owned carriers, China Telecom Americas, China Unicom Americas, and ComNet since they began operating in the United States in the early 2000s.

This article appeared in CSO Online. To read the rest of the article please visit here.