Chinese energy tech exports found to contain hidden comms and radio devices

Date:
Wed, 14 May 2025 19:11:00 +0000

Description:
US officials are investigating the risks posed by Chinese-made devices.

FULL STORY

Rogue communication devices have been discovered in Chinese made solar inverters, devices which play a critical role in renewable energy infrastructure, Reuters reports . This has prompted US energy officials to re-assess the risks of emerging technologies produced in China.

Power inverters are primarily produced in China, but used globally to connect solar panels and wind turbines to electricity grids, as well as being used in heat pumps, batteries, and electric vehicle chargers.

Its reported that over the last nine months, some batteries bought from
Chinese suppliers have been discovered with hidden communication devices like cellular radios - according to sources familiar with the matter.

Rogue components

Experts have warned that communication devices could evade firewalls and
switch inverters off remotely, posing a huge risk to power grids, as they
could change settings, damage energy infrastructure, destabilize the grid,
and cause widespread blackouts.

Its not yet clear how many of these communication devices were found, nor the nature of the devices themselves - and the intent behind the planting of
these is unknown. That being said, the US Department of Energy has confirmed
it continually assesses risks associated with emerging technologies and that there were significant challenges with manufacturers disclosing and
documenting functionalities.

This isn't the first time solar grids have been targeted - and security flaws leaving them vulnerable to being hijacked and even disabled . 46 vulnerabilities discovered by Forescout were found to allow hackers to deploy remote code execution, denial of service, device takeover, and access cloud platforms or sensitive information.

It seems likely, given recent events and rising geopolitical tensions, that
the US will look to move production to domestic manufacturing plants for a
more secure supply chain, Its worth noting though, that Huawei is currently
the worlds largest supplier of inverters, accounting for 29% of shipments around the world in 2022.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/chinese-energy-tech-exports-found-to-co ntain-hidden-comms-and-radio-devices

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