Pager bomb explosions and walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon have sparked fears around the world about the dangerous use of technology. These attacks against fighters of the anti-Israeli Lebanese group Hezbollah have killed dozens and injured thousands. After the attack, the United States also increased its vigilance. The U.S. Commerce Department is considering banning the use of Chinese software and hardware on vehicles operating in the country due to security concerns.
Sources informed Reuters of U.S. concerns. “You can imagine what a disaster it would be when millions of cars on the road suddenly have their software disabled,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
Sources said that if the United States takes this step against China, it will ban the import and sale of vehicles with autonomous driving system software and hardware from China.
Nearly every vehicle on U.S. roads is considered connected. Connected vehicles have on-board networking hardware that provides Internet access. This way, data can be shared with devices inside and outside the car.
In November, a group of U.S. lawmakers expressed concerns about Chinese auto and technology companies collecting sensitive data when testing vehicles in the U.S. and retaining that data for future use. In February, U.S. President Joe Biden ordered an investigation into the safety risks of vehicles purchased from China.
British media reports warn of Chinese spyware
Last year, British media reported that intelligence officials were concerned about Chinese spyware. To this end, he conducted inspections of government and diplomatic vehicles. The investigation found that at least one SIM card could send location data. According to reports, the equipment was purchased from a Chinese supplier.
Before the explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon, it was thought that espionage could be done electronically, but after the explosions, the dangers of a new type of warfare increased. Now, even while away, people can explode electronic devices and wreak havoc, such as disabling connected cars and causing havoc on the road.
Increased risk of supply chain breaches
Hezbollah blames Israel for Lebanese pager bombings. The attack raises a new threat of supply chain warfare. According to reports, Israel placed explosives in pagers manufactured by Taiwan’s “Golden Apollo” company.
The fragments of the exploded pager reportedly had gold Apollo logos and stickers on them. However, Gold Apollo claims that its pagers are manufactured by BAC Consulting in Budapest, Hungary. The consulting firm owns the rights to the Golden Apollo logo. Hungarian officials said the company was a trading intermediary and did not produce any products in the country.
Global electronics supply chains often traverse contractors, subcontractors and component suppliers spread across multiple countries. China plays a huge role in these supply chains, as it supplies the majority of electronics to the world.
Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications company based in Shenzhen, China, has been at the center of the U.S.-China technology competition for years. U.S. officials have warned that Chinese officials could use its equipment for espionage, but China denies the accusations.
Michael Watt, a supply chain expert at business risk consultancy Kroll, told The Washington Post that governments could start increasing inspections of goods leaving their ports.
“This should be a warning to the country’s government that they should consider the shortage of all goods under customs control,” Watt said.
But the current situation is that when most electronic products are shipped from one country to another, there are very few inspections on them. Watt said if additional testing of all goods begins, it will create more bottlenecks in the supply chain.
Pager bombings also heightened China’s concerns
While the United States has become wary of importing electronic equipment from China in the wake of the pager bombings, China may also be worried about electronics being used as weapons against it.
Mohammad Faisal Abdul Rahman, a researcher at the S. S. S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said in an interview with the South China Morning Post that China is now targeting electronics and communications products made by the United States and its allies, including Taiwan. The view is more profound. Then see yourself.
He said: “Some people in China believe that Taiwan, as a close ally of the United States and therefore also close to Israel, was involved in this secret operation in some way.” After that, mainland China can also be more vigilant about other Taiwanese industries.
Abdul Rahman said the intelligence and military agencies of world powers and their allies could abuse global supply chains and prepare war devices in advance. During any conflict or war, they can cause havoc by activating these prepared devices.
