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https://archive.ph/PiLko (Translation) In light of the total breakdown at Deutsche Bahn following a malfunction in the railway radio system, security policymakers are calling for Chinese components to be excluded from critical infrastructure. “It is a fundamental problem in Germany that we are heavily dependent on Chinese components in the area of critical infrastructure and that many Chinese components are already in use,” CDU politician Roderich Kiesewetter told the Augsburger Allgemeine.

He believes that “a ban on the procurement and installation of components from all Chinese manufacturers in critical infrastructure and security-related infrastructure is long overdue.” He emphasized that this is not about individual manufacturers, but rather the “fundamental untrustworthiness of countries like China.”

Konstantin von Notz, a politician from the Green Party, expressed a similar view. “The fact that Deutsche Bahn’s systems still use numerous components from countries that deliberately spy on and repeatedly sabotage our critical infrastructure is a situation that must be addressed as soon as possible,” he told the newspaper.

Railway Rules Out Cyberattack

Due to a disruption in the railway radio system, Deutsche Bahn was forced to halt all train service on Tuesday. Thousands of passengers were stranded because control centers and train engineers were suddenly unable to communicate with each other via radio.

It is extremely unusual for Deutsche Bahn to have to completely halt train service regardless of the weather. Philipp Nagl, head of the railway infrastructure company DB InfraGo, said that an error had occurred during maintenance of a core component of the GSM-R railway radio system. However, Deutsche Bahn ruled out a cyberattack.

Earlier this year, the European Commission had already taken the initiative with a legislative proposal to ban controversial network technology providers in Germany and other EU countries in the future. The proposal is likely to target Chinese technology companies such as Huawei and ZTE in particular. Network operators have sharply criticized the plan.

The concern is over sabotage and espionage by third countries. The Commission’s draft does not name any specific companies or countries. Recommendations from the European Commission to EU countries—repeated emphatically for years—not to use technology from Huawei and ZTE in their mobile networks for security reasons could thus become mandatory. From the Commission’s perspective, too few countries have so far excluded the two manufacturers from operating 5G mobile networks.

https://www.worldeconomics.com/Thoughts/Asia-Now-Larger-Than.aspx?ThoughtID=215