Posted on 03/16/2026 3:45:04 AM PDT by Libloather
Millions of Americans depend on medical devices — pacemakers, infusion pumps and patient monitors — to stay alive. But some of that equipment is made in China and it may be spying on us – or worse.
In January 2025, the Food and Drug Administration and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a stark joint warning: patient monitors made by Contec Medical Systems, a Chinese company based in Qinhuangdao, contain a hidden backdoor. These devices, used in hospitals across the United States, can transmit sensitive patient data to a hard-coded IP address in China. Even more troubling, the backdoor allows remote code execution, potentially letting an adversary manipulate displayed vital signs and trigger dangerous clinical decisions.
There is no patch to fix it. For China, it’s a feature, not a bug.
China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law requires every Chinese company to assist state intelligence operations on demand. When Beijing says open the door, the company complies. The implications for any Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked device in America’s health care system are clear and unacceptable.
President Donald Trump recognized the danger early. In September 2025, his administration launched a Section 232 national security investigation into medical equipment imports, citing the risk that foreign powers could weaponize supply chains. Investigators discovered CCP-linked devices even in U.S. government-funded research labs.
Dependence on an adversarial foreign supplier using state subsidies to dominate American competitors is bad enough. But add to that, the threat of sudden export cutoffs in a crisis as we saw during COVID-19 and the peril is heightened. If hospitals rely on compromised supply chains, patients could be left without lifesaving technology when it matters most.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I guess we don’t have enough homegrown technology that we have to depend on others, but why would we depend on a known enemy.? Maybe we could encode some of the stuff we send to them. Or better yet, maybe we should just not do any business with them & move them out of ANY business we are currently doing with them. They obviously can’t be trusted.
I guess we don’t have enough homegrown technology that we have to depend on others, but why would we depend on a known enemy.? Maybe we could encode some of the stuff we send to them. Or better yet, maybe we should just not do any business with them & move them out of ANY business we are currently doing with them. They obviously can’t be trusted.
“”How in the HELL does this crap get approved for use in the first place? “Made in China” has become synonymous with, “We’re spying on you”...””
***
How, you ask? It’s obvious as to ‘how’. Democrats... ie America’s enemy within, being placed into any position of power and/or control to make decisions such as these.
That’s how. Eight years of Obama, four years of OBiden and before that, the eight-year reign of the Clintonistas. The only astounding thing to me is... “how” is it that most Americans are not aware of this FUBAR situation we’re in, thanks to the Democrats... to the point that they would actually vote ‘for’ another damn Democrat in 2028 and beyond. That’s what I wonder “how” about.
Our chip making capability has been largely offshored of the last 30+years and frankly, a lot of commodity chips like memory chips have been made overseas for much longer
That said, even US produced chips have bee found to have hidden malware embedded in the chip artwork
I was once an advisor to companies implementing their China policies and I warned about just this kind of risk along with a bunch of other risks .
My advice was contrary to that of the corporate consensus then in vogue and also to the advice of other advisors and my contrarian views on the downside risk (now completely confirmed ) of ill advised offshoring policies pretty much cost me my consulting biz.
“Have you tried ordering chinese food on that thing?”
No, I don’t talk to it. I’m afraid if I do it might answer me and then I’ll have another heart attack.
Not to minimize any of this but I would bet a lot of American consumer electronics have similar features for updating their products operating systems.
They’ll swear up & down there is no “back-door” but just look at our election machines.
Seems like more likely China would be interesting in hospital finances and not patients.
Stalking a patent pretty much buys you nothing.
Stalking a hospital staff member gives you possible access to bank accounts and credit card numbers.
The information about individuals in a hospital is of no tactical value to China.
Your medical information is kept confidential because of its potential impact on legal issues with your insurance and doctors or warding off unsolicited sales activities. This also avoids unwanted social situations such as your employment opportunities and so on. It has nothing to do with National Defense or even a war upon you personally.
Before you go goofy, understand that I am an embedded software engineer who designs and implements these sort of things. Software downloads are open in order to perform bug fixes in the software, not to exercise controls they are incapable of performing. They will not update while connected to a patient. These monitors do not have a record that identifies the patient.
Pacemakers or other embedded systems have no business having external RF connectivity. The medical industry would be at fault for selecting any that do or using them without first having the software inspected by a trusted party.
I agree with you - but let’s not forget the RINOs, which the failure to pass the SAVE Act so far shows are a real problem.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.