Washington – Archyde.com
The United States needs to continue modernizing its nuclear command and control system to combat potential espionage from foreign companies’ equipment installed in cell phone communication towers near nuclear missile fields, the head of US Strategic Command, Admiral Charles Richard, said on Wednesday.
The comments came following he was asked regarding a report that the US Department of Commerce is investigating the national security threat posed by the Chinese telecom equipment company Huawei, amid concerns that the company’s facilities may capture sensitive information regarding locations and transmit it to Beijing.
“We are well aware of the potential threats to our nuclear command and control,” Richard told reporters. This isn’t new, is it? The attraction of nuclear command and control to your opponent has made it very ambitious for decades, and we know that.” He added, “I have great confidence in the system, but I will point out that those threats that you are talking regarding are not fixed, and we must continue to modernize our nuclear command and control system to enable it to overcome these threats.” Richard did not mention Huawei by name.
The US Department of Commerce summoned Huawei in April 2021 to learn the company’s policy on sharing data with foreign parties that its devices can pick up from mobile phones, including messages and geo-location data.
Huawei has long faced US government allegations that it may spy on US customers, although authorities in Washington have not disclosed sufficient evidence. The company denies the accusations.
America wants to modernize its nuclear systems to counter foreign threats
