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   US solar highway infrastructure may contain hidden malicious tech, officials   
   warn   
      
   Date:   
   Fri, 12 Sep 2025 19:00:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   US authorities were advised to inventory all highway gear and look for signs   
   of undocumented communication.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   Certain power inverters and battery management systems (BMS), found in    
   highway infrastructure equipment placed along US roads, contained    
   undocumented cellular radios.    
      
   This is according to a new security advisory distributed by the US Department   
   of Transportations Federal Highway Administration last month, Reuters   
   reported.    
      
   At this point, it seems that no one knows for certain who placed the radios    
   or what their purpose is, but there are speculations that the hardware could   
   be used to remotely tamper with the equipment, steal data, or sabotage   
   roadside infrastructure.   
      
   Hidden comms in highway tech    
      
   The hardware containing these power inverters and BMS includes signs, traffic   
   cameras, weather stations, solar-powered visitor areas and warehouses, and   
   electric vehicle chargers.    
      
   The Federal HIghway Administration advised local authorities to inventory all   
   inverters installed on US highways, and scan them with spectrum analysis   
   technology to see if they contained any unexpected communications. If they   
   find something, they should disable and remove the radios, and make sure    
   their networks are properly segmented.    
      
   While the question remains who placed the radios, many of the installed   
   inverters were manufactured in China. The Chinese Embassy in Washington told   
   Reuters in a statement that it opposed "the distortion and smear of China's   
   achievements in the field of energy infrastructure."    
      
   This is not the first time China was in the epicenter of a cyber-espionage   
   story, since a story similar to this one was published on Reuters in May.   
   Also, during Donald Trumps first term as US president, he banned Huawei from   
   building out its 5G infrastructure, fearing that the Chinese company might be   
   pressured by its government to install backdoors and allow the Chinese   
   government to eavesdrop on US communications. Other companies, such as ZTE,   
   were blacklisted at the time, as well.    
      
   China always denied all accusations, offering to open up its source code and   
   allow European oversight during installation.    
      
    Via Reuters   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/us-solar-highway-infrastructure-may-con   
   tain-hidden-malicious-tech-officials-warn   
      
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