Pentagon Wary of Chinese Telecom Firms

(Newsroom America) -- The Pentagon is growing increasing wary of two Chinese telecom giants that have begun to infiltrate the U.S. market with wildly popular cell phones, indicating that it could become a threat to national security.

Military leaders have said cyber attacks are a top security threat to the United States, with the Defense Department, the FBI and National Security Agency working diligently to keep up with quickly maturing technological threats to government systems, the website Military.com reported Thursday.

Already, the Department of Defense sustains some 10 million cyber attacks daily. Just this week, the White House managed to repel an attack so serious that officials acknowledged the risk it posed, without providing additional details.

Some reports said the attack was focused on the White House Military Office. Attacks don’t have to infiltrate nuclear missile bunkers or submarine messaging codes to bring a country to its knees," Military.com reported. "Digital technology penetrates most of American culture. Cell phones lead the way as these tiny computers dictate most Americans’ schedules, communications and even banking."

Increasing dependence on cellular networks around the world, but especially in the U.S., is what has Pentagon officials concerned.

Chinese firm Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., has grown into the world's largest telecom. More importantly, say defense officials, the firm has strong ties to the Chinese government and People’s Liberation Army. One report, said the website, "estimates the Chinese government has access to about 80 percent of the world’s communications through their domestic telecommunications corporations."

The ties have led the House Intelligence Committee to launch an investigation into ties between Huawei and telecom giant ZTE Corporation and the Chinese government.

The Australian government has already decided the Chinese telecoms pose to much of a security threat and have banned them from doing business in the country.

In June, U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., traveled to Hong Kong to meet with executives from both firms, telling them the U.S. would not permit them to serve as espionage vehicles for Beijing.

"Cyber attacks are one of the most serious threats to our country, not only to our domestic business, but also our national security," he told the website.

European nations are also becoming increasingly concerned about their cellular systems as well. In Britain, for instance, Huawei equipment is used to run half the nation's networks, Military.com reported.

© 2012 Newsroom America.

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