Chinese lidar sensors pose hacking risk to US defense equipment, report says

Luminar Technologies

02/12/2024 15:00

By Stephen Nellis and Michael Martina
       Dec 2 (Reuters) - Chinese-made lidar sensors could
expose the U.S. military to hacking and sabotage during a
conflict, according to a Washington think tank report released
Monday that calls for a ban on putting those sensors into
American defense equipment.
    Lidar sensors use lasers to generate a digital
three-dimensional map of the world around them. While most
commonly found in driver-assistance systems in the automotive
industry, they are also used in critical infrastructure such as
ports, where they help automate cranes.
    The U.S. military is also considering how to put the
technology in autonomous military vehicles. But the Foundation
for Defense of Democracies said in a report that lidar sensors,
typically connected to the internet, use advanced processors
that could allow for the concealment of malicious code or
firmware backdoors that are difficult to detect. 
        Such "hardware trojans" could be exploited by China's
government, which under Chinese law can force companies to
comply with state security directives. Satellite-based laser
systems could also be used to trip or disable such sensors in
fractions of a second over broad swaths of U.S. territory, the
foundation said.
    "While Chinese LIDAR sensors may be cheaper, the obvious
long term costs of sabotage and surveillance far outweigh the
savings," Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the foundation and
one of the report's authors, told Reuters.
    The foundation recommended that U.S. lawmakers ban the
procurement of Chinese lidar in defense gear and that U.S. state
governments ban its use in critical infrastructure. The think
tank also recommended that U.S. policymakers work with allied
countries such as Germany, Canada, South Korea, Israel and Japan
to create an alternative lidar supply chain to China.
    While several prominent lidar suppliers such as Valeo,
Luminar Technologies  LAZR.O  and Aeva Technologies  AEVA.N  are
based in Europe or the United States, China has also become a
major player in the industry with firms such as Hesai Group
 ZN80y.F .
    The U.S. Department of Defense in October signaled it plans
to put Hesai back on a list of companies it says work with the
Chinese military.

 (Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco and Michael
Martina in Washington; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
 ((Stephen.Nellis@thomsonreuters.com;))