Spyware Found in US Solar Panels: Is Australia More at Risk With 90 Percent Sourced From China?
With 90 percent of its solar panels imported from China, Australia may be especially vulnerable to the kinds of security threats now emerging in the U.S. energy sector, where spyware-type components were found in solar tech.
That's the warning from one Australian strategic expert after a recent investigation
Some of these components include cellular radios and were not listed in product documentation. They could also potentially allow remote access for hackers to control critical energy infrastructure, and bypass firewalls.
'We know that China believes there is value in placing at least some elements of our core infrastructure at risk of destruction or disruption,' Mike Rogers, a former director of the U.S. National Security Agency, told Reuters.
'I think that the Chinese are, in part, hoping that the widespread use of inverters limits the options that the West has to deal with the security issue.'
The potential damage from a cyber attack is to strew chaos across power grids, infrastructure, and cause widespread blackouts.
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Instead of passing on tariff costs to consumers, tonic maker Fevertree Drinks (FQVTY) announced on Thursday it would equally split costs of the 10% tariff imposed on UK imports to the US with brewer Molson Coors (TAP). The British company, known for its premium cocktail mixers, counts the United States as its largest market, where it continues to deliver strong momentum bolstered by its partnership with the US beer maker Molson Coors. Read more here. Reuters reports: Read more here. British firms are brushing off President Trump's tariffs, according to a survey released on Thursday by the Bank of England. Reuters reports: Read more here.
