national security risks posed by Chinese-made ‘smart cars’

Don't know what the big deal is since they don't let them into the USA anyway (hi import fees), not that they would have any dealership or service centers.
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The source: Citing National Security Concerns, Biden-Harris Administration Announces Inquiry into Connected Vehicles | U.S. Department of Commerce

Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comment to inform the potential development of regulations to secure and safeguard the Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) supply chain for connected vehicles (CVs).

“It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to think of how foreign government with access to connected vehicles could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the personal privacy of U.S. citizens,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “To assess these national security concerns, we are issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to investigate the national security risks of connected vehicles, specifically PRC-manufactured technology in the vehicles. We need to understand the extent of the technology in these cars that can capture wide swaths of data or remotely disable or manipulate connected vehicles, so we are soliciting information to determine whether to take action under our ICTS authorities.”

“While we benefit greatly from the shift to a more digital and connected world, those connections create new avenues for espionage and sabotage. We must remain vigilant in identifying and securing those vulnerabilities, including potential vulnerabilities present in connected vehicles,” said Under Secretary for Industry and Security Alan Estevez. “Today’s action demonstrates that we are taking thoughtful, deliberative, proactive steps to address concerns that connected vehicles may present for U.S. national security.”

The ANPRM explains how the incorporation of foreign adversary ICTS in CVs can create risks, for example, by offering a direct entry point to sensitive U.S. technology and data or by bypassing measures intended to protect U.S. persons’ safety and security. In such cases, ICTS provided by persons or entities owned, controlled, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary may pose undue risks to critical infrastructure in the United States and unacceptable risks to national security. The People’s Republic of China presents a particularly acute and persistent threat to the U.S. ICTS supply chain related to CVs.

This ANPRM demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration’s proactive efforts to address the potential national security risks associated with the ICTS integral to CVs and is a significant step in advancing the ICTS mission.

In this ANPRM, the Department seeks feedback on a number of issues, including: definitions;, how potential classes of ICTS transactions integral to CVs may present undue or unacceptable risks to U.S. national security; implementation mechanisms to address these risks through potential prohibitions or, where feasible, mitigation measures; and whether to create a process for the public to request approval to engage in an otherwise prohibited transaction by demonstrating that the risk to U.S. national security is sufficiently mitigated in the context of a particular transaction. ​

Tit for tat, the Chinese forbid their military from driving Teslas. Next you'll be claiming Tik-Toc is a Chinese spy-ware.

Bob Wilson

 

'Tis a wonderment how an industrial export nation (de)famed work producing garbage of the lowest quality can also produce cutting edge cyberspy stuff. Must be in different factories.

 

leaked files show the secret world of chinese hackers for hire:

china-leaked-files.html

 

Pay wall
If you don't want Paola to New York Times - then here's a free one;
Huge cybersecurity leak lifts lid on world of China’s hackers for hire | Cybercrime | The Guardian

Let the plausible deniability begin!
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Just more dishonest protectionism to get the vote of American car makers because they will defend them from an "invader" who makes superior EVs at a significantly lower price: BYD storms into Europe as first cargo ship docks in Germany

 

The competing interests create somewhat of a mixed bag. Extremely low wages in China mean they are not any longer existing in object poverty - but have little hope of anything more. Let's not forget Apple contract workers that at one time preferred jumping out of Windows / committing suicide rather than work under horrible conditions.

Foxconn suicides - Wikipedia

To remedy the chinese worker situation, the company strung Nets around the building so they wouldn't look so horrible - workers splatting on the ground.

Certainly things are not that bad anymore one would hope.

Yet now we criticize unions here for trying to secure a better wage and health benefits. Truly having our cake and eating it too

It's not the best situation when here in the USA we have to buy products, whether it's a car or phone, printer, Etc that was produced through the harsh conditions of a socialist environment. A Far Cry from North korea, but in both - disapproved of behavior can cause one to disappear.
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I have ridden in BYD EVs that seem both adequate and modern. I do not know if they transferred travel data to other parties. By glassdoor.com, BYD paid average line workers RMB 11,000 /month in 2021. Divide by 7.2 (currently) for $USD; $1530. That would assuredly suck in US wage terms. By tradingeconomics.com, average wages in China were RMB 8,900 /month in 2021. Gives a general idea where BYD worker bees fit in.

For my N=1 there have been times when I have survived not uncomfortably on similar income. Housing, utilities, food, medical and modest splurges. That is in sleepy Kunming; Beijing and Shanghai cost more, as do splurges there. Also, doing family and educational costs are outside my view. So yes, RMB 11,000 /month would be tight for a one-worker family.

Tesla builds EVs in China, and by

Tesla Hiring for Multiple Positions at Giga Shanghai, Here’s the Base Salary - TeslaNorth.com.

in 2021 they were offering RMB 10,650 /month in 2021; seemingly a slice below. Just so you know how that fits it.

China's high-end EVs (competing with Tesla I guess) are Nio and Xpeng. I do not readily find what they pay line workers. I do see they are having a hard time of it against Tesla (here) and are reducing prices. I'd be surprised if their salaries were much higher than others mentioned above. If salaries were lower, they'd lose staff. So, as a guess, similar.

==
TL;DR vehicle assembly is multi skill and requires training. Even so, vehicle assemblers do not exceed average incomes in China. Draw your own conclusions. People here seek remunerative employment as they will.

==
Foxconn wiki (suicides) along with rest of wikipedia is blocked to me, but I have some idea of its content. Cell phones are an unusual market sector. Some manufacturers pushed line workers beyond human endurance. Possible that Apple is rotten, but I could not say so.

But I will claim that manufacture in China, across sectors, does not lead to worker suicides, and that conflating Foxconn with everything else is either indolent or ill intentioned.

 

US electronic tinkers are second to none! Make a small cheap gadget that scrambles or blocks bad data transmission from bad cars. Done! Unless ... domestic interests desire their own data transmission from cars, in which case a block cannot be allowed.

 

It is called a switch on the antenna(s).

Of course we could use the classic:


Bob Wilson

 

They seem to have little trouble using balloons....
The ChiComms are the Ferengi of earth nations. They seem to be unencumbered by morals, "somewhat" patriarcic, and individually PROFIT focused.

When you practice for-real instead of made-up genocide it DOES tend to lower your production costs!
If BYD can pass US safety standards, I say let them in! (Child slave labour notwithstanding.)

I'm old enough to remember when domestically produced cars were a travesty of 'consumer safety and value' due to the combined efforts of our labour unions and industry-wide 'planned obsoleteness.'
If you don't know what 'planned obsoleteness' is - try to buy anything made by Apple, only Apple dodged the crippling 'union made' quality control issues (mostly) and got away with charging super-premium prices for products made from cheap, child and forced minority labour.
For fun and profit, they also invented (or more accurately PErFECTED) monetary offshoring.

Japanese imports in the 1980's MADE THE AMERICAN CAR MARKET BETTER not worse.

Antenna theory and wave propagation ban be male-chicken blocked.
IP packets for forced OTA 'upgrades?'
Not so much.
Besides, the ChiComms will have no more trouble accessing your "Build Your (our) Dreams" car than they did in scraping every single jot and tiddle from all of my SF-86 forms - and antennae will not be involved!

 

Fastest way to fight inflation, trim down the 25% China tariff. It wouldi impact WalMart customers first and Biden can take credit. Fall out would be to smack down Federal Reserve Board driven credit interest rates.

Bob Wilson

 

Was reading about Godzilla port cranes:

Biden Plans To Spend Billions Replacing China-Made Cranes at US Ports.

 

Like Japan and Korea, the Chinese won’t be able to subsidize their cars forever.
Until then, use the tariffs to keep the playing field reasonable level

 

This is a YUUUGE threat!!!!!!

(....to union jobs.)
For norms...... meh.

It's interesting how "third world nations" manage to offload containers from container ships faster, cheaper, and more safely all because they got rid of all of the loose nuts connecting the ship with the dock.
This has been going on ever since there were ships.

If we were the nation that we once were, ANY person who has successfully completed the eighth grade would know a thing or two, such as:

1. Presidents don't spend money, legally - except maybe for ice cream.
SPEAKING OF ICE CREAM.....
Flashback: Nancy Pelosi Said President Lacks Authority to ‘Forgive’ Student Debt
In July of 2021, before her standard hydraulic lunch, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said President Joe Biden does not have the executive authority to issue “debt forgiveness,” arguing that such action would be illegal and that it has “to be an act of Congress.”

“People think that the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not. He can postpone. He can delay. But he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress..."

aaaaaand,

B: If we started importing importing Godzilla (racist term?) cranes from the ChiComms, it would radically improve BOTH our port operations AND our ability to build port cranes.

There's no cybers OR cyphers being threatened!
They already KNOW WHAT WE BUY, because we mostly BUY IT FROM THEM!!!!

 

How about the government protect our privacy and data from all connected cars, not just those from one country? How about expand that to protection from cell phones and all other connected devices?

Note that this hasn't been a concern for other connected cars sold here that are imported from China, and one of those companies is Chinese owned.

 

Chinese phone company Huawei comes to mind ....
Criticism of Huawei - Wikipedia.

Do we really need more laws /regulations - or just enforce the tons we already have
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Port cranes don't kill jobs,
People do.

 

I was thinking more Toyota, GM, Hyundai, Apple, Google, Samsung, etc.
Have strong consumer data protection laws for everything, and you won't need to single out companies or countries.