{"id":30674,"date":"2023-10-05T15:52:17","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T15:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2023\/10\/05\/do-these-computers-sold-at-navy-exchange-pose-a-cyber-threat\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:23:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:23:15","slug":"do-these-computers-sold-at-navy-exchange-pose-a-cyber-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/cyber\/2023\/10\/05\/do-these-computers-sold-at-navy-exchange-pose-a-cyber-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"Do these computers sold at Navy Exchanges pose a cyber threat?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article has been updated to include a response from Lenovo, and information from Marine Corps Exchange and Army and Air Force Exchange Service officials.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawmakers are urging Navy Exchange officials to stop selling Lenovo computers and other products, because of their reported links to the People\u2019s Republic of China government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe exchange should not be selling Lenovo products to U.S. service members, let alone incentivizing such purchases with tax-free, discounted prices,\u201d stated lawmakers<\/a> on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, in a letter to Navy Exchange Service Command CEO Robert Bianchi, dated Oct. 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They asked for a briefing to the Select Committee no later than Oct. 20, to explain why the Navy Exchange decided to sell these items. \u201cLenovo is closely affiliated with the People\u2019s Liberation Army, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the [People\u2019s Republic of China] government,\u201d stated the letter, signed by Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisconsin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The People\u2019s Republic of China espionage campaigns \u201care highly sophisticated and could certainly target U.S. service members on their personal computer and IT devices,\u201d the lawmakers wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All eligible shoppers can buy from the Navy Exchange, regardless of branch of service. Neither Marine Corps exchanges or Army and Air Force exchanges have carried Lenovo products since 2019, according to spokespersons for those exchange services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A quick check of the Navy Exchange website<\/a> shows nine Lenovo laptops and one desktop computer for sale. Information was not immediately available from Navy Exchange officials on the number of products sold in stores, or the volume of sales. A response to the lawmakers\u2019 concerns was not available by publication time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement provided to Military Times, officials from Lenovo, a company with headquarters in Beijing and Morrisville, North Carolina, denied those connections with China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe assertions regarding Lenovo cited in Chairman Gallagher\u2019s letter are based on past claims that were inaccurate, unsubstantiated or resolved years ago,\u201d officials stated. \u201cLenovo is not affiliated with the People\u2019s Liberation Army in any way, is not invested in or controlled by the Chinese government or the Chinese Communist Party, and does not participate in or have links to Chinese state-run cyberespionage campaigns.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his committee letter, Gallagher quotes a 2018 report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, stating, \u201c[Lenovo\u2019s] links to state-run cyberespionage campaigns are well documented, and it is believed to have been complicit in installing Superfish spyware and potentially a BIOS backdoor on a number of its computer products.\u201d BIOS is a basic input\/output system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to that report, \u201cthe Chinese government, through Legend Holdings Limited, is the largest shareholder of Lenovo stock.\u201d However, the company points to a Fitch Ratings report, which states that Legend Holdings has a 36% share and holds two of 12 board seats, and that Lenovo is independent of Legend. Lenovo\u2019s leadership team includes several Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\t