State Department: Equipment from Chinese suppliers poses a serious security risk to Montenegro, the US, and NATO

Cyber actors based in China have repeatedly compromised the networks of major US and global telecommunications providers to conduct extensive cyber espionage campaigns, the US State Department told Radio Free Europe.

” Given the scale and scope of China’s malicious cyber activities, the US government is working with allies and others to expand cyber security capabilities to counter the threats posed by malicious cyber actors sponsored by the Chinese Communist Party, ” reads the response RFE/RL received from the US Embassy in Podgorica.

One of Montenegro’s three telecommunications companies uses 5G base stations from the Chinese company Huawei.

And Huawei poses a “significantly greater risk” than other 5G technology suppliers, a European Commission official told RFE/RL.

A NATO official told RFE/RL that its members are “obliged to conduct thorough risk and vulnerability assessments” in this area.

The presence of equipment from unreliable suppliers in critical infrastructure around the world poses a serious risk to the security of Montenegro, the United States, and NATO, the US State Department told RFE/RL.

“We remain deeply concerned about the vulnerability to our collective security when NATO allies entrust critical infrastructure to unreliable service providers, thereby compromising our interests, security, and values.”

The State Department has called on countries to prioritize national security and privacy over “cheaper equipment and services” in all public procurement of critical infrastructure.

The government did not respond to RFE/RL’s inquiry about what it is doing to protect Montenegro’s interests in this area.

Montenegro passed a new electronic communications law last year. It stipulates that the government may restrict the purchase and use of equipment from a specific manufacturer if it assesses that this could have harmful consequences for national security.

Huawei did not respond to RFE/RL’s inquiry. The Chinese Embassy told RFE/RL that “politicizing trade issues will only disrupt normal technological exchange and cooperation and is not in the interests of either side.”

Concerns about possible espionage and sabotage

The Digital Forensics Center (DFC), established by the Atlantic Association of Montenegro, has warned that Montenegro—as a NATO member and candidate for European Union membership—must be cautious in its use of Chinese technologies.

They emphasize that the concerns and fears of Western countries are heightened by China’s national security law, which obliges their companies to cooperate with state intelligence services.

“Although Chinese companies’ solutions are technologically advanced and cost-competitive, their ties to Chinese state and intelligence structures raise security concerns, including the possibility of espionage, sabotage, and control of critical infrastructure,” the DFC study warns.

The US is leading a global campaign against the use of Chinese 5G equipment, particularly Huawei and ZTE.

The DFC cites a 2022 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation that found Huawei equipment could be used to disrupt US military communications, including those related to its nuclear arsenal.

Since then, several countries have joined the US in banning the use of 5G equipment from certain Chinese companies.

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