China has announced that US memory chipmaker Micron Technologies has failed its network security review and has in turn barred their products in the country.
China Blocks Micron Sales
According to Reuters, the cyberspace regulator in China has stated that Micron products have “serious network security risks, which pose significant security risks to China’s critical infrastructure supply chain”. This decision has led to the country barring operators of key infrastructure from buying from Micron. This decision is expected to include sectors from telecoms, transport and finance which is based upon China’s definition of critical information infrastructure.
Micron’s Response
Micron has stated that the Chinese regulator has not provided any information on the risks it has found however an analyst to Reuters has claimed that the decision would have a limited impact due to most of Micron’s China income not being generated from telecoms or government and instead mostly in consumer electronics. Micron states that it “looks forward to continuing to engage in discussions with Chinese authorities”.
This is just another big battle in the tensions surrounding chip manufacturing between Washington and Beijing and is likely only going to get worse.
