Yesterday, we discussed the danger of facilitating the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) access to capital and lowering the CPC’s cost of capital. Others, however, found news of the US Department of Commerce proposal to ban Chinese- and Russian-made components that connect vehicles operating in the United States to the internet (Biden Administration Proposes Ban on Chinese, Russian Components in Connected Vehicles – WSJ) more concerning.
They have a better point than they may know.
The news describes well concerns that the components made in China or Russia may enable comprehensive surveillance. When the CPC banned Teslas from driving near its military bases, the CPC strongly suggested that it knew how to gather sensitive information on mobile platforms, like cars.
The news barely mentions the “kill switch” capabilities the internet connected vehicles may possess. When a hurricane was bearing down on western Atlantic island communities, Tesla extended battery ranges from the eastern side of the Pacific. Would a manufacturer in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) meddle with vehicles’ performance in response to a totalitarian’s command?
The administration’s national security advisor has talked generally about, “the risk of disruption and sabotage’ from internet connected vehicles. Bundling internet connections, remote-control features and code hacking abilities create “kill switch” capabilities. A malign actor could use those to inject malicious commands and disrupt operations at airports, commercial and government offices, hospitals, power plants, manufacturing sites, military bases, water plants.
It gets worse.
Government reports do not mention that components manufactured in South Korean, Taiwan and even the United States could include encoded threats, too. Any component made according to internationally accepted design standards that CPC representatives have established could surreptitiously include embed features that enable unwanted capabilities.
What can US leaders and we do about this? Reduce the CPC’s access to cash and raise the cost for access it does have. Vehicle life cycles often range from 10 to 20 years. The CPC depends on tighter, or more frequent, capital access cycles.
Yesterday, we discussed the danger of facilitating the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) access to capital and lowering the CPC’s cost of capital. Others, however, found news of the US Department of Commerce proposal to ban Chinese- and Russian-made components that connect vehicles operating in the United States to the internet (Biden Administration Proposes Ban on Chinese, Russian Components in Connected Vehicles – WSJ) more concerning.
They have a better point than they may know.
The news describes well concerns that the components made in China or Russia may enable comprehensive surveillance. When the CPC banned Teslas from driving near its military bases, the CPC strongly suggested that it knew how to gather sensitive information on mobile platforms, like cars.
The news barely mentions the “kill switch” capabilities the internet connected vehicles may possess. When a hurricane was bearing down on western Atlantic island communities, Tesla extended battery ranges from the eastern side of the Pacific. Would a manufacturer in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) meddle with vehicles’ performance in response to a totalitarian’s command?
The administration’s national security advisor has talked generally about, “the risk of disruption and sabotage’ from internet connected vehicles. Bundling internet connections, remote-control features and code hacking abilities create “kill switch” capabilities. A malign actor could use those to inject malicious commands and disrupt operations at airports, commercial and government offices, hospitals, power plants, manufacturing sites, military bases, water plants.
It gets worse.
Government reports do not mention that components manufactured in South Korean, Taiwan and even the United States could include encoded threats, too. Any component made according to internationally accepted design standards that CPC representatives have established could surreptitiously include embed features that enable unwanted capabilities.
What can US leaders and we do about this? Reduce the CPC’s access to cash and raise the cost for access it does have. Vehicle life cycles often range from 10 to 20 years. The CPC depends on tighter, or more frequent, capital access cycles.
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