CSET’s Emily S. Weinstein shared her expertise in a WIRED article that addresses the presence of encryption chips manufactured by Hualan Microelectronics, a Chinese company flagged by the US Department of Commerce for its ties to the Chinese military, in the storage hardware of military and intelligence networks in Western countries.

In regards to the company being flagged, Weinstein stated, “Technically, the Entity List is an ‘export control’ list.” This implies that US organizations are prohibited from exporting components to companies on the list, rather than importing components from them. She notes that it’s often used as a de facto warning to US customers not to buy from a listed foreign company, either. 

She highlights that companies like Huawei, DJI, and others have been added to the list due to their alleged ties to the Chinese military. She states, “It’s used somewhat as a blacklist. The Entity List should be a red or maybe a yellow alert to anyone in the US government who’s working with this company to take a second look at this.”

Read the full article on WIRED.