China to Introduce Security Checks on Foreign IT Products
Netease Tech, 5/22/14
China's State Internet Information Office (SIIO) has announced that China will launch a network security check system to safeguard the country's information network security and ensure the interests of Chinese users of foreign IT products. Under the new system, important IT products and services related to national security and public safety must pass a network security test in order to enter the Chinese market.
Jiang Jun, spokesperson for the SIIO, has stated that, for a long period of time, a small number of national governments and IT firms have taken advantage of their "unilateral monopolies" and technological "hegemony" to collect data on a large scale, which not only severely damages user interests, but also creates major threats to China's cybersecurity.
China will immediately launch a network security check system which stipulates that major IT products and IT product suppliers who wish to gain access to the Chinese market must undergo network security checks. The checks will focus on product security and controllability, namely to protect China from product suppliers controlling, interfering, or interrupting user systems, as well as the illegal collection, storage, processing, and exploitation of user information. Products and services that do not adhere to China's security demands will not be allowed in the country, according to the SIIO.
Editor's Note: China's announcement comes on the heels of a US grand jury indicting five Chinese military officials for hacking into US companies. The indictment represents the first set of criminal hacking charges that the US has filed against specific foreign officials.
Keywords: hardware software regulation government policy Internet IT products Jiang Jun national security State Internet Information Office