Berliner Abendpost - Haloid Research Finds that Cellular Walkie Talkies Put Americans at Risk of Chinese Spying

Haloid Solutions, a leading provider of wireless communications equipment, is warning all business and government agencies about foreign espionage and business disruption risks from China-manufactured cellular two-way radios. These devices were sold in the United States from "pop up companies" that claimed the devices were private.

Haloid Solutions, a leading provider of wireless communications equipment, is warning all business and government agencies about foreign espionage and business disruption risks from China-manufactured cellular two-way radios. These devices were sold in the United States from "pop up companies" that claimed the devices were private.

For the past year, we've researched and investigated the radio over cellular space, also known as Push-to-Talk Over Cellular, or PoC. We've encountered dozens of "pop up" U.S. companies selling China engineered, manufactured, and hosted devices for extremely low prices. The devices are advertised as encrypted and marketed and sold to businesses and government agencies. We estimate millions of these devices are currently in operation.

From our research, we've found that many of these companies' claims are misleading or false. For example, one Chinese manufacturer white labels its products under numerous U.S. names, and claims that the servers hosting its radios are on Amazon servers in the U.S. In reality, they are hosted by Alibaba, the Chinese tech conglomerate and are vulnerable to Chinese spying by sending back user data to China.

In another example, one consumer-oriented company claimed false partnership affiliations with the U.S. government and Fox News and even asserted its devices could survive a cyberattack whereas other devices could not. According to experts we spoke with, this company is also selling equipment that is not FCC-approved, and is, therefore, illegal to use in the United States.

We must state that while we do not have any specific evidence that the Chinese government is using these radios for spying, similar to TikTok, the potential exists and the probability is high. From our research, it was easy to spot disinformation and deliberately misleading claims made by the companies selling the radios, in order to gain trust of American users.

Bad actors, including U.S.-based resellers of this equipment, can spy on unsuspecting radio users via multiple methods. They can monitor and record transmissions. They can also collect GPS coordinates to identify or blackmail individuals working in sensitive areas. Moreover, the microphones on these devices can be activated remotely for audio monitoring. And in extreme cases, onboard cameras can provide video and pictures to a remote party.

In addition to spying risks, these devices also put current owners at risk for violating existing federal and state laws. Some of these devices are outlawed under Section 889 of the National Defense Authorization Act, which prohibits certain telecommunications equipment from being used by, or in providing services to, the U.S. government. For healthcare users, HIPAA laws make many of these devices illegal as well.

If you operate a radio that might be vulnerable to Chinese spying, Haloid is providing a complimentary threat questionnaire to send to your radio provider to assist with your threat analysis. For radios users that require a secure and/or nationwide radio solution, Haloid offers its HaloidX products that meet the industry's strictest security requirements and also support interoperability with existing land mobile radios.

To learn more about Haloid Solutions, visit HaloidSolutions.com.

Media Contact Info:

Michael McDonald
[email protected]

SOURCE: HALOID INC

L.Ziegler--BlnAP