Letter to the Hon. Patrick Shanahan, Acting Secretary of Defense and General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - Gallagher and Gallego Send Letter on National Security Threats Posed by Chinese Telecommunications Firms and 5G
Letter
Dear Secretary Shanahan and Chairman Dunford:
Congress has been briefed that Chinese telecommunications firms seeking to construct 5G networks around the world represent a potential threat to American national security and the information security of allies and partners.
China's own National Intelligence Law and concept of Military-Civil Fusion ensures that Chinese firms are not independent of the state. Rather, they must support the law enforcement, intelligence, and national security interests of the Chinese Communist Party. In light of this reality, the threat of a compromised 5G network and its negative effects on personal data, government secrets, military operations, and privacy, is high.
Accordingly, in advance of your testimony to the House Armed Services Committee next week, please consider the following questions:
1. Can you articulate the espionage threat posed by the transfer of U.S. data and voice communications over a Chinese constructed 5G network?
2. Will the United States be able to have confidence in allied or partner networks that rely on Chinese technology and which could be used for military or defense communications purposes?
3. Will our ability to share information with key allies change if a country like Germany or a Five Eyes ally were to adopt a 5G network with major systems or hardware sourced from Chinese state-directed companies?
4. What steps will DoD consider to mitigate these threats at home and at facilities abroad?
5. In light of these threats, do you find it concerning that American technology companies are selling critical enabling components to Chinese telecommunications firms like Huawei and ZTE?
Thank you for your attention to this matter as we continue this dialogue about our digital national security.
Sincerely,
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