Chinese technology in 'Internet of Things' poses new threat to West: Reports

tech.hindustantimes.com:

As soon as the UK decided to ban China's telecommunication Huawei, from its 5G telecoms networks, the debate regarding the security threat from Chinese equipment again intensified in the mainstream.

Recently, the British government has replaced security equipment provided by Chinese-owned tech companies at offices of key government officials.

This comes after the MPs and peers called on the British government to crack down on the use of surveillance equipment from two Chinese companies, Hikvision and Dahua, which have already been blacklisted by Washington, Financial Post, an American-based publication reported.

However, there is one threat that has gone under the radar, the tiny components made by Chinese companies in devices connected by the Internet of Things.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has evolved from niche industrial applications to being ubiquitous in homes, offices and some vehicles. These technologies are great to help in our day-to-day life but it turns out to be data collectors which can be used by a hostile state such as China to influence, pressure or threaten an adversary, company or individual.

All these connected functions are enabled by tiny cellular IoT modules. Unlike semiconductors or 5G base stations, they are rarely marketed as complete products, which goes some way to explaining why the risk appears to have been lost on London and Washington.

According to the publication, CISA, the US cyber security agency, recently warned of critical vulnerabilities in Chinese-made GPS-enabled IoT devices in cars and motorcycles. They were found to contain hard-coded admin passwords and other flaws that would not only allow Chinese suppliers to monitor the location of these devices remotely but to potentially cut off