Our smartphones, the websites we visit, and CCTV cameras are harvesting invaluable data about our lives by tracking every move we make hundreds of thousands of times per day. A large portion of this data is stored in China. This idea is terrifying.
The Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok has software that can access our most private information, according to a cybersecurity company's demonstration last week. It's the newest and most concerning illustration of how technology constantly monitors us, endangering both our civil freedoms and the security of the country.
According to Asian Light International, China is "weaponizing" microchips placed in smart bulbs, refrigerators, vehicles, and credit cards to spy on you.
Three Chinese firms, Quectel, Fibocom, and China Mobile, already control 54% of the worldwide device market and 75% of the connection industry.
Clients of the three Chinese companies include Tesla Motors, Dell, Lenovo, HP, and Intel, as well as Sumup, a company that processes credit card payments.
According to Asian Lite International, devices with modules include laptop computers, voice-activated smart speakers, smart watches, smart energy metres, fridges, light bulbs, and other appliances that can be operated via an app. They also include body-worn police cameras, doorbell cameras, and security cameras, as well as bank card payment terminals, cars, and even hot tubs.
The modules gather information and then broadcast it over 5G networks, allowing China to track the movements of intelligence targets like people, weapons, and supplies while also using the gadgets for industrial espionage. In the UK, there are already millions of them in use.
A report by Charles Parton, a former diplomat who advised parliament on China, claims that "trojan horse" technology poses a "widespread" threat to Britain's national security.
Parton worked in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong for 22 years of his diplomatic career. He has provided China-related advice to the Foreign Office, the European Union, and the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.
Senior MPs have expressed concerns about the "widespread presence" of cellular IoT modules, according to the report, which claims that ministers have entirely failed to comprehend the harm they bring.
It urges ministers to act right away to prevent the sale of Chinese-made cellular IoT in the UK before it's too late.
Charles Parton stated, "We are not yet aware of the hazard. China has recognised a chance to control this market, and if it succeeds, it will be able to collect a lot of data and compel other nations to depend on them."
According to a report released on Monday by Washington-based consultancy OODA, the potential threat to national security posed by Huawei products used in mobile infrastructure is greater than the threat posed by Chinese-made components in mobile phone masts. As a result, the government has decided to outlaw these products.
Cellular IoTs, or Internet of Things, are tiny modules that are employed in everything from advanced weapon systems to smart refrigerators to track usage and transmit information to the owner and frequently the manufacturer utilising 5G.
Espionage has a lot of potential. According to Asian Light International, the research recommends monitoring American arms sales activity in conjunction with artificial intelligence and machine learning to handle enormous amounts of data.
In order to track visiting ministers during advance security sweeps, it can also be used to identify and address royal and diplomatic protection personnel.
Even seemingly innocent uses of the equipment, like farm gear, might enable the Chinese identify weak points in Western supply chains, like low crop harvests, and subsequently undercut British providers. gaining market share, increasing reliance on Chinese goods in the West.
The West would become totally dependent on China for the supply of the crucial component if China were allowed to establish a monopoly on the manufacture of the equipment, which is subsidised by the Chinese government to make them less expensive than Western competitors, according to Asian Lite International.
According to the OODA report, government assets should be thoroughly audited to determine whether equipment needs to be replaced and that task be delegated to corporations working in sensitive industries like defence by the end of 2025.