Gadgets with Foreign Components May Be Preloaded with Malware

Here’s a scary thought: gadgets made with foreign components may be coming into our country already preloaded with malware, viruses, spyware, and other sorts of scary stuff. Even software that can defeat the security measures put in place on devices such as our laptops. Not just software and devices made in other countries, but some of the components in American made devices that come from foreign sources as well.

Recently at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Greg Schaffer, Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Communications, testified that this is definitely a viable threat, and one that both his department and the White House have known about for some time. While there were no details on what devices in particular have been involved, this does confirm what private security experts have been warning us about for years. The panel is currently considering an Obama administration proposal which would increase monitoring on all computer equipment imported for use in government communications.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) asked Schaffer in the hearing: “Are you aware of any component software or hardware coming to the United States of America that already have security risks embedded in the components?” Schaffer reluctantly answered, “I am aware that there have been instances where that has happened.”

A task force will be put in place to decide how to proceed with this security threat, and to develop a system to reduce the risks. In the meantime, be sure to keep your security protocol on your own devices. Always run anti-virus and anti-malware software on your computer. Periodically run a free scan of ChicaPC-Fix™ to check for any malware currently lurking on your PC.

You can view the entire exchange via YouTube below. It begins at the 51.47 mark.

–Angela Skinner Mullen