These are turbulent times in the US telecom industry. Security agencies have been working with carriers and ISPs to stop the hacking carried out by Salt Typhoon, a group linked to China. This has made US authorities more wary of Chinese firms than ever. In line with that, the FBI has started investigating Baicells Technologies, a Huawei-linked company.
The FBI and US Commerce Department launch investigation against Baicells, a Huawei-linked company
Former Huawei executives founded Baicells in 2014, and it has been operating in the US since 2015. It is a supplier of telecom equipment—including routers and base stations. Its technology is present in 700 commercial mobile networks across the United States. Now, the FBI and the US Commerce Department have started investigating the firm for potential risks to national security.
As reported by Reuters, US officials continue to fear that China is using telecommunications equipment from companies with whom it has ties to spy on Americans. In fact, Baicells was just added by the Pentagon to a list of 134 companies that are thought to have ties to China’s military. Representatives of the firm confirmed that they plan to appeal the designation, which they consider baseless.
The FBI has been warning Baicells’ clients about the use of its network equipment for years. The agency managed to cancel a contract in Las Vegas in 2023. In addition, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a warning in 2023 about vulnerabilities in Baicells’ Nova base stations. Such vulnerabilities could allow attackers to hijack the devices remotely. A Censys study from September 2024 found that between 28 and 186 Baicells base stations were still using the vulnerable firmware.
Baicells says it has no ties to China; customs data shows otherwise
Meanwhile, Baicells claims to have no current ties to China. The company says this has been the case since 2019 and that its products have been manufactured in Taiwan for years. However, customs data shows that most of its imports to the US—92%—come from China or Hong Kong.
US officials do not want to give Beijing any ease in breaching its telecom networks. Especially in the middle of the Salt Typhoon incident. A recent bill could even make it even more difficult for Huawei to get chip-making equipment. We may see tougher US action against Chinese telecom equipment suppliers in the future.
