WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th November, 2019) The US military unknowingly purchased Chinese made security products with spying capabilities for more than a decade from a New York company that disguised the products as American made, prosecutors said on Thursday.
"For more than 13 years, Aventura has imported networked security products from PRC [People's Republic of China] manufacturers and resold them to US military and other government installations while claiming, falsely, that they were American made," Eastern District of New York US Attorney Richard Donoghue told reporters.
"Some of these PRC manufactured systems had known cybersecurity vulnerabilities," Donoghue added.
Donoghue disclosed the potentially catastrophic security breach in unsealing a criminal indictment of Aventura Technologies and seven current and former employees, including its entire senior management.
Donoghue's remarks followed an early morning raid by multiple Federal law enforcement agencies on the Long Island, New York-based technology company.
The indictment raised concerns that the operation could have given Chinese spies a close up view of operations from inside US military branches and other government agencies.
The indictment comes amid US concerns that China's technology companies routinely equip electronic equipment, including seemingly innocuous consumer electronics such as cellular telephones, with so called back doors allowing access by Chinese intelligence services.
