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U.S. officials have issued warnings about potential hidden communication devices in solar-powered highway infrastructure, including traffic cameras, EV chargers, roadside weather stations, and visitor areas. A recent advisory from the Federal Highway Administration highlighted that undocumented cellular radios were found in certain foreign-made power inverters and battery management systems. Authorities caution that these devices could be remotely tampered with and may pose data security risks. The alert follows earlier findings in both the U.S. and Europe and is part of ongoing scrutiny of foreign technology, particularly Chinese equipment, in American transportation and energy systems.
U.S. authorities have flagged potential security risks in solar-powered highway infrastructure, including electric vehicle chargers, traffic cameras, roadside weather stations, and visitor areas. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released an advisory late last month, noting that certain foreign-made power inverters and battery management systems contained undocumented cellular radios. Advertisement
The advisory emphasized that these hidden devices could be manipulated remotely, raising concerns over data theft or unauthorized control. While the advisory did not specify the country of origin for the affected equipment, many inverters used in the U.S. are manufactured in China. Officials expressed concern that these radios, along with electronic systems that manage rechargeable batteries, could create vulnerabilities in critical transportation infrastructure.
Earlier reports indicated similar issues. In May, U.S. energy experts discovered rogue communication devices in some Chinese inverters and batteries. Around the same time, Denmark's Green Power group reported unexplained electronic components in imported equipment used for the country's energy network, suggesting that the issue extends beyond the United States.
The FHWA advisory recommends that federal and state authorities take specific steps, including cataloging inverters, scanning devices with spectrum analysis tools to detect undocumented radios, disabling or removing any unauthorized equipment, and ensuring networks are properly segmented to prevent security breaches.
The advisory listed potential risks, including simultaneous outages in highway systems and covert data collection. Solar-powered signage, traffic cameras, weather stations, EV chargers, and warehouse systems were all identified as potentially affected. The alert highlights the need for proactive measures to maintain the safety and integrity of transportation infrastructure.
Separately, U.S. officials have also raised concerns about Chinese-made vehicles operating on American roads, particularly regarding sensitive data collection from autonomous vehicle testing. Earlier this year, the Commerce Department finalized regulations that will effectively bar nearly all Chinese cars and trucks from entering the U.S. market by late 2026, addressing both software and hardware vulnerabilities.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington responded by opposing what it described as a distortion and smear of China's achievements in energy infrastructure. The FHWA clarified that the advisory summarizes publicly available and unclassified reporting and is intended to guide transportation operators in implementing practical security measures.
Source- Reuters
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