Collins, Senate colleagues move to protect U.S. from Chinese cyberattacks

The United States must ban the use of a Chinese company’s inverters to protect the nation’s electrical systems and infrastructure from cyberattacks, said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and a bipartisan group of 10 other lawmakers.

Sen. Collins, who serves on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, along with her colleagues seeks a nationwide ban on inverters produced by Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., the world’s largest manufacturer of the solar control systems used to expand residential and utility scale energy production.

“Our federal government should consider a ban on the use of Huawei inverters in the United States and work with state and local regulators to raise awareness and mitigate potential threats,” the senators wrote in a Feb. 25 letter sent to U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Among those joining Sen. Collins in signing the letter were U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Richard Burr (R-NC) and Mark Warner (D-VA).

The lawmakers pointed out that Huawei inverters are large-scale photovoltaic systems also used by U.S. homeowners, school districts and businesses, making them equally vulnerable to cyberattacks.  

“We understand that Huawei … is attempting to access our domestic residential and commercial markets,” the senators wrote, noting that Congress recently voted to block Huawei from the U.S. telecommunications equipment market because of concerns around its ties to China’s intelligence services. 

“We urge similar action to protect critical U.S. electrical systems and infrastructure,” they wrote.

Sen. Collins and her colleagues urged the secretaries to work with all federal, state and local regulators, as well as America’s power producers and electricity distributors to protect the homeland systems.

“We stand ready and willing to provide any assistance you need to secure our critical electricity infrastructure,” the senators wrote.