U.S. Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) recently introduced the Secure Smartports Act in a bid to shield American port infrastructure from cybersecurity threats from China using greater collaboration between the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) and industry.
“With oceans on either side of us, America has always been an oceangoing country with an economy that’s fueled by trade,” Kelly said. “This bill takes critical steps to protect our ports and maritime system from cyber vulnerabilities presented by Chinese-government-backed technology that could threaten our economy and our security.”
To achieve this, the bill underscores the importance of protecting the Marine Transportation System (MTS) – an integrated network of ports, terminals, vessels, waterways, and land-side connections nationwide. That system, like most things nowadays, relies on digital systems for everything from operations to cargo movements, engineering, and security monitoring. Traditionally, those systems have helped the maritime shipping industry achieve new heights and advance world-spanning supply chains, but they could also prove an Achilles heel, according to the senators.
They called attention to a 2022 report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) staff, which laid out the path China seeks to take to become a transportation superpower. According to that report, it has ambitions to flex control or influence over the physical movement of goods worldwide and shoring up its market position in shipbuilding and shipping. On the digital side, it also aims to control data and information flows – meaning software platforms and databases that track goods and enable communication could be in the crosshairs.
“Every day we don’t understand the risks of relying on Chinese technology is a day when the Chinese Communist Party can compromise the ports and infrastructure we need to move essential goods throughout our Nation,” Casey said. “This bill will ring the alarm on Chinese cyber threats and help protect our critical shipping infrastructure.”
The bill would require the NCSC to develop a plan to help companies and port systems protect against risks posed by Chinese technology. That technology, they noted, could be used to spy on or even seize control of critical infrastructure and supply chains.
Going forward, the NCSC would also have to alert industry to any threats posed by Chinese-backed shipping and logistic infrastructure, technology and software.