China-made Huawei devices could disrupt US nuclear communication
The FBI has unravelled that equipment built by Chinese company Huawei, installed on cell towers near US military bases, is capable of disrupting US nuclear arsenal communications, a media report said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) discovered that the Chinese-made Huawei equipment atop cell towers near US military bases in the rural Midwest could capture and disrupt highly restricted Defense Department communications, including those used by US Strategic Command, which oversees the country's nuclear weapons, CNN reported citing sources.
The findings of the investigation were based on the information provided by current and former national security officials.
However, it is difficult to determine whether the data was sent to Beijing from these towers as it was difficult to prove that a given package of data was stolen and sent overseas, media reported.
Even though China denied the allegations of spying on the US, several sources have said that the Huawei equipment has the ability to intercept commercial cell traffic along with highly restricted airwaves that are used by the military and can disrupt critical US Strategic Command communications, allowing the country to spy on America's nuclear arsenal, it added.
"This gets into some of the most sensitive things we do. It would impact our ability to essentially command and control with the nuclear triad. That goes into the Bona Fide Determination (BFD) category. If it is possible for that to be disrupted, then that is a very bad day," a former FBI official said.
US federal officials have conducted a probe into the land purchases made by China near critical infrastructure since 2017.
A high-profile regional consulate was also shut down by the US as it was
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