The vulnerability of telecommunication networks poses a major threat to the ongoing operations of modern American life. The goal of the Intelligence Committee’s investigation was to measure the potential security risk posed by China’s top two telecommunications companies, Huawei and ZTE, and to assess whether the U.S. government was “properly positioned” to understand and respond to that threat.
Lawmakers were determined to explore the threat presented by the potential loss of control over U.S. “critical infrastructure”; the interdependent system of electric power grids; banking and finance systems; natural gas, oil, and water systems; and rail and shipping channels – each of which depend on computerized control systems. Additionally, the Intelligence Committee was concerned with Chinese motivations and their capacity to maliciously modify or steal information from government and corporate entities in order to gain access to expensive and time-consuming research and development that would advance China’s economic position on the world stage.
Lawmakers were determined to explore the threat presented by the potential loss of control over U.S. “critical infrastructure”; the interdependent system of electric power grids; banking and finance systems; natural gas, oil, and water systems; and rail and shipping channels – each of which depend on computerized control systems. Additionally, the Intelligence Committee was concerned with Chinese motivations and their capacity to maliciously modify or steal information from government and corporate entities in order to gain access to expensive and time-consuming research and development that would advance China’s economic position on the world stage.
