US officials issue warning that solar panels could be spying on us
Solar power might be one of key pieces of infrastructure that the United States can employ to fight against climate change, yet it has seemingly come at the cost of security as US officials make the wild claim that they're being used to spy on everyone.
America is seemingly under constant threat from spying and privacy invasions thanks to Chinese technology, as accusations levied at 'mosquito-sized' drones and even household air fryers have linked these technologies to the Chinese government.
Some have even claimed that China has employed 'kill switches' in key areas of the US electrical grid that would allow the foreign nation to disable infrastructure at mass across the country, yet a new warning from the Department of Transportation could introduce a fresh threat.
As reported by the Independent, officials from the transportation department have issued a directive that all traffic cameras and weather stations that are powered by in-built solar panels need to be scanned for undocumented cellular radios.
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The claim is that these devices have been discovered within battery inverters manufactured abroad, and that they could be being used to spy on the United States in a number of ways.
While the country that these devices originated from has not been officially revealed by US authorities, it is incredibly common for them to be sourced and imported from China.
Anomadarshi Barua, a researcher in the Department of Cyber Security at Virginia's George Mason University, has outlined that these rogue devices would allow a foreign nation to remotely tamper what they are being used to power, and this could be devastating if used effectively.
"That could create a lot of havoc," explained the cybersecurity expert, as it could be used to mess with everything from roadside communication to autonomous cars, so you can imagine why people are worried.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington has strongly denied the allegations that China is using these devices in a malicious way, writing in a statement that it directly opposed "the distortion and smear of China's achievements in the field of energy infrastructure."
If the Department of Transportation is correct though it could be used to both collect data and cause significant disruption, which the latter in particular would prove a powerful move if China was to make a move against America or one of the nation's allies.
Some across social media have called these claims into question though, branding them a means of pushing propaganda against a rival foreign nation with no actual evidence.
"How much do you want to bet it's just the normal communications devices you typically find in any inverter," writes one Reddit user, "and they are being labeled rogue because of the country of origin."
Others have claimed that this is a push against renewable energy, with one comment alleging: "Without a list of affected products and instruction on how to block their comms, this strikes me as anti-renewables."