Subj : US solar highway infrastr
To   : All
From : Mike Powell
Date : Fri Sep 12 2025 18:36:42

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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