Garbarino & Katko Sound Alarm Against “The Next Huawei”

WASHINGTON –Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Cybersecurity Subcommittee, and Rep. John Katko (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, are pressing the Departments of Homeland Security and Commerce on how they plan to address the new and emerging Chinese companies seeking to fill the Huawei void and compromise the U.S. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) supply chain.

In a letter to DHS Secretary Mayorkas and Commerce Secretary Raimondo, Garbarino and Katko stress the Chinese Communist Party’s continued commitment to lie, cheat and steal its way to global dominance while attacking our nation’s ICT backbone.  

“Specifically, we are alarmed at the rise of Chinese technology company Xiaomi, which has recently launched several new high-end smartphones aiming to fill the consumer-facing void left by Huawei,” wrote Garbarino and Katko. “We share grave concerns that Xiaomi poses a significant threat to the privacy of any of its users through its lineup of smartphones, laptops, smart watches, and other consumer-facing products. In many ways, data has become the modern-day currency of homeland security and we must take threats to the data integrity of the free world seriously.”

The members call on DHS and the Department of Commerce to ensure the security of the nation’s ICT supply chain and outline their strategy for responding to the threat of emergent market players like Xiaomi.

“Our committee is concerned that the federal government currently lacks the ability to quickly comprehend and address security concerns from Chinese companies that are seeking to proliferate throughout the global economy,” continued Garbarino and Katko.

Read the full letter here.

###