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STS cranes being delivered: Taiwan International Ports Corp
Chinese crane manufacturer Shanghai Zhenhua (ZPMC) has rejected US claims that communications equipment found on its quay cranes are there for espionage purposes.
On Friday, The Loadstar reported that equipment manufactured by state-owned ZPMC, which has built 80% of the quay cranes used in the US, and a higher percentage of those in Europe, was subject to a Congressional probe after cellular modems had been found.
Yesterday, ZPMC issued a statement, saying it “takes the US concerns seriously,” but stressed that its cranes “do not pose a cybersecurity risk”.
It added: “Cranes are designed, manufactured, transported, installed and commissioned and delivered after acceptance in strict accordance with international standards, applicable laws and regulations, and technical specifications determined by customers.”
The statement neither confirmed nor denied the presence of the modems on the cranes, merely adding that ZPMC “continues to strictly abide by applicable laws”.
According to the Congressional report, 12 cellular modems were discovered on crane equipment and in a server room at a US port, and House Homeland Security Committee chair Mark Green accused Beijing of “systematically burrowing” into US infrastructure.
The port authorities involved remain unknown, but they maintain they had not specified the modems and did not know why the equipment had been installed.
The American Association of Port Authorities has slammed claims of cranes being used for espionage as “media alarmism”, but government is taking it more seriously.
In part, this is over concerns that, beyond being able to amass strategic data on US cargo movements, Chinese authorities may be able to take control of the cranes and effectively blockade the US with what has been described as a “kill-switch”.
Rear Admiral John Vann, head of US Coast Guard cyber command, told hearings a fortnight ago that no ““malware or Trojan horse-type software” had been found in the equipment.
Nonetheless, Mr Vann added that “we have found, I would say, openings, vulnerabilities… by design, these cranes may be controlled, serviced and programmed from remote locations.”
Comment on this article
Dwight Campbell
March 12, 2024 at 4:17 pmVirtually every computer, or even modern electronic device, is connected, or at least connectable, to the internet, and is able to “be controlled, serviced and programmed from remote locations”.
If they want to eliminate this capability, at this point in time, they will not be able to put anything on the internet, or allow anything such as Bluetooth or other wired or wireless communication protocols. Even something as straight forward as a single USB stick presents a significant security hazard. I don’t see any government, or other entity, having a stellar record against hackers, or someone just copying a USB stick, and taking it home in their pocket, knowingly or otherwise.
Hackers are currently able to shutdown entire segments of the internet surprisingly easily. That operation with a bitcoin ransom can all be done offshore and could be as problematic as Chinese or other offshore data gatherers.
The more complex these systems get, the more susceptible, and valuable, they become to outside interference.