March 2, 2024
The federal government is being urged to examine reducing Australia's reliance on Chinese madecranes and electric vehicles because of fears they could be used for spying or to disrupt the normal functioning of society.
United States President Joe Biden last week issued an executive order to improve cybersecurity protections at American ports, including new regulations for Chinese-made cranes and investing $30 billion to spur the production of locally-made cranes.
"People's Republic of Chinamanufactured ship-to-shore cranes make up the largest share of the global market and account for nearly 80 per cent of cranes at US ports," US Coast Guard cybersecurity chief Jay Vann said.
"By design, these cranes may be controlled, serviced and programmed from remote locations.
These features potentially leave PRC-manufactured cranes vulnerable to exploitation."
Biden followed up on Thursday by announcing an unprecedented investigation into potential security risks in the US automobile sector amid fears China could use smart cars to spy on American drivers and infrastructure.
Cybersecurity experts have previously expressed concerns about cranes manufactured by Chinese industrial giant ZPMC which are installed in ports across Australia and have sophisticated sensors allowing them to track shipping.
Australia's biggest ports operator, DP World, was forced to close its operations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle last November after a cyberattack which delayed the delivery of goods across the country.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said: "We saw during the DP World cyber incident the serious and rapid flowon effects for our economy and society of a disruption of our ports.
"We should not make the task of foreign state-backed hackers targeting critical infrastructure any easier by using high-risk vendors."
Paterson added that Chinesemade electric vehicles were a growing cybersecurity risk.
A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said: "The Department of Home Affairs actively assesses Australia's technology security policy settings to ensure they remain fit for purpose. "This includes consideration of how the government manages the risks associated with vendors which could be compelled by foreign governments to act against Australia's interests.
"However, it is still important that businesses contemplate security risk when deciding whether a product or service is appropriate for their network."
When announcing the US Commerce Department probe, Biden said electric vehicles were "connected to our phones, to navigation systems, to critical infrastructure and to the companies that made them".
Beijing has previously said that concerns about surveillance risks from Chinese-made products were "paranoia-driven".
In his annual threat assessment in which he sensationally accused an unnamed former politician of being co-opted by foreign spies ASIO boss Mike Burgess said he was increasingly concerned about the threat of sabotage to critical infrastructure.
"ASIO is aware of one nationstate conducting multiple attempts to scan critical infrastructure in Australia and other countries, targeting water, transport and energy networks," he said this week.
As speculation about the identity of the former politician continued, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he supported Burgess' decision not to name the individual at the centre of the scandal.
"I have confidence in ASIO, I have confidence in the directorgeneral," he said.
FBI director Christopher Wray last month warned that "China's hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause realworld harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike".
