As part of efforts to reduce reliance on Chinese-built cranes at U.S. ports that pose a national security risk, the Biden government will invest billions in a U.S. subsidiary of Japanese firm Mitsui. The administration is taking over $20 billion from the 2021 $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill to invest in the cranes.
The move is one of several actions being taken by the White House intended to shore up maritime cybersecurity. They include a U.S. Coast Guard directive mandating specific digital security requirements for foreign-built cranes and President Biden’s executive order Biden establishing new cybersecurity standards for computer networks operating at American ports.
The current Chinese-made cranes contain sensors that can track the origin and destination of shipping containers, raising concerns that China can capture shipping information about materials used in overseas U.S. military operations. The Chinese-built cranes recently account for almost 80 percent of ship-to-shore units at U.S. ports.
“By design these cranes may be controlled, serviced and programmed from remote locations,” said Rear Adm. John Vann, head of Coast Guard cyber command. “These features potentially leave PRC-manufactured cranes vulnerable to exploitation,” he said.
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