Eyeing China, US senators introduce cybersecurity bill

Two US senators have table a bill that they say aims to protect US supply chains from cyber-attacks from foreign actors, including China.

The Manufacturing, Investment, and Controls Review for Computer Hardware, Intellectual Property and Supply (MICROCHIPS) Act (S.2316) has emerged at a time of escalating tensions between the US and China on cybersecurity as well as tariffs and trade.

S.2316 – introduced by Senators Mike Crapo and Mark Warner – calls for government and the private sector to develop a national strategy…for assessing risks to critical technologies, fortifying the industrial base against these threats, and preventing compromised materials from entering the US supply chain,” according to a summary document.

It would also create a National Supply Chain Security Centre and would unlock funding for supply chain protections under the Defence Production Act.

“Russia and China seek to steal sensitive defence information from the US through the use of blended espionage operations in the supply chain, supply chain activities, and cyberspace, and through insider threat human actors,” says the bill.