With 90 percent of its solar panels and over a million inverters imported from China, Australia may be especially vulnerable to the kinds of security threats now emerging in the U.S. energy sector.
That’s the warning from one Australian strategic expert after a recent investigation uncovered hidden communication devices in Chinese-manufactured solar power inverters and batteries.
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.
