Ever since the US shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon over its airspace in January, there have been growing concerns over Beijing’s surveillance techniques.
US officials have now raised concerns over the possibility of a ‘new tool’ used by Beijing for spying- Chinese-made cranes operating at US ports.
Pentagon officials suspect that cranes made by Chinese manufacturer ZPMC operating across American ports, including at several used by the military, are being used to register sensitive information, Wall Street Journal reported.
The report said that national security and Pentagon officials have compared the ship-to-shore cranes made by the Chinese company to a Trojan Horse.
The cranes have sophisticated sensors which can register and trace the origin and destination of containers, raising concerns that Beijing could be capturing information about materials being shipped in and out of the country to support overseas US military operations.
The cranes are not only operated by Chinese-made software, but in some cases, they are even supported by Chinese nationals working on two-year visas. These factors could be potential avenues through which intelligence could be collected, the report said.
A former US counterintelligence official said that the cranes could be used to provide remote access to someone to disrupt the flow of goods.
“Cranes can be the new Huawei. It’s the perfect combination of legitimate business that can also masquerade as clandestine intelligence collection,” Bill Evanina, a former top US counterintelligence official said referring to Huawei Technologies Co, whose equipment were banned after warning that it could be used for spying on Americans.
However, a representative of the Chinese Embassy in US called the concerns about the cranes a “paranoia-driven” attempt to obstruct trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
The news comes amid reports of China not only using spy balloons, but also operating police stations across the globe, including in the US.
US officials have also expressed concerns over China’s growing control of ports around the world through strategic investments. It also makes world’s new shipping containers and controls a shipping-data service.
The ZPMC cranes entered the US market around two decades ago and were said to be good-quality cranes and cheaper that the Western suppliers.
Currently, the Chinese firm controls around 70 percent of the global market for cranes and has sold its products to more than 100 countries.
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