Cranes manufactured in China could be the latest security vulnerability facing the United States, with the equipment potentially offering Beijing a peek into import and export data.
Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. (ZPMC) is a manufacturer of ship-to-shore cranes which are used to load and unload containers from ships to docks and vice versa. ZPMC, a Chinese state-owned firm, is estimated to account for almost 80 percent of such cranes that are currently used in American ports, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Some security experts are concerned about the sophisticated sensors present in the equipment that can potentially track the origin and destination of containers, providing an opportunity for Beijing to access the inflow and outflow of goods in the country….