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China is positioning equipment in a "strategic location" that can be used to disrupt U.S. business after rogue communications equipment was found in Chinese solar inverters, a former NSA analyst said.
Two sources told Reuters that rogue communication devices not in official product documents were found in Chinese solar inverters when they found possible security issues in Chinese solar inverters.
The two sources said the rogue power transfer has undocumented communication channels that can be used to bypass firewalls remotely, which could have significant consequences. These power inverters connect the solar panels to the election grid.
Rocky Cole, a former intelligence analyst at the National Security Agency and co-founder of Idiveify, told Fox News Digital that it is "very likely" that China is using these rogue power inverters to obtain U.S. infrastructure.
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A former NSA official said China may be using these power inverters for evil reasons. (AP Photos/Andy Wong and Reuters/Brian Snyder/File Photo)
"It fits well with the Chinese model, implanting hardware into critical U.S. infrastructure with the aim of conducting cyberattacks on the U.S. in the event of a conflict with Taiwan," Cole said.
The law requires Chinese companies to assist Chinese intelligence agencies when needed.
Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., issued the following statement to Fox News:
"China's pursuit of development is to enable its people to live a better life. We oppose guilt under unclear facts, generalizations of national security concepts, and distorted and smeared generalizations of China's energy infrastructure sector," Penger said.
According to one of the sources, undocumented communication devices, including cellular radios, have been found in batteries from multiple suppliers in China over the past nine months.
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The Chinese flag is on the flut foot of Pingtan Island, the closest Taiwan Island to China on December 11, 2024, located in Fujian Province in southeast China. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)
This is just another example of China preparing for possible conflicts in the United States, Cole said
“In these real strategic places, you can imagine, in some kind of conflict, what you can imagine is the equipment that destroys American business,” Cole said. “In the field of critical infrastructure, it’s hard to see Chinese-made hardware as a national security threat in my mind.”
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The plant grew on May 6, 2022 through a range of solar panels in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Reuters/Brian Snyder/File Photo)
"As long as you have any time in the U.S. or in a supply chain outside of the U.S. country, it provides an opportunity for intelligence so-called supply chain operations, which means intelligence operators work with manufacturers to implant backdoors into hardware."
“Without strict oversight of the supply chain, it’s hard to be sure that your hardware does not include these backdoor implants into the supply chain operations. I think it’s critical that U.S. officials realize the risks posed by hardware made in China.”
Reuters contributed to the report.