US hunts for Chinese cyber spying in telecom industry

The US government has asked all domestic telecom companies to provide detailed information on the foreign software and hardware on their networks aimed at curtailing Chinese cyber spying.

Observers say the US government is invoking Cold War-era national security powers to force telecommunication companies, including AT&T and Verizon Communications, to reveal confidential information about their networks, according to a Bloomberg report yesterday.

The investigation is speculated to be the result of  US intelligence agencies perhaps having unearthed evidence of embedded spyware on foreign-made equipment. Commentators believe this could  lead to the US government hardening its stance against Chinese equipment makers like Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp.

In April, the US Commerce Department sent a survey to telecom operators asking for a detailed account of foreign-made hardware and software as well as security-related incidents including the discovery of "unauthorized electronic hardware" or equipment that can duplicate or redirect data, Bloomberg said.

The survey, which went to dozens of telecommunications companies, software makers and information-security companies, including some foreign firms, has asked them to provide detailed information on equipment related to optical-transmission components, transceivers and base-station controllers.

The information would also be given to the Defense Department, which would enable the government to pinpont who was building what parts of the country's communications infrastructure.