Congress’ “China Week” Needs to Make Cybersecurity a Priority
This week, legislators are voting on various legislative proposals as part of the so-called “China Week.” As its name indicates, Congress will be evaluating various policies that aim to counter China’s rising threat to American leadership abroad. The U.S. economy is increasingly reliant in digital technologies with an explosion of “smart” and internet-connected devices. And while these products have brought tremendous benefits to their users, they have opened new paths for adversarial nations to attack Americans with tech-based attacks such as malware and spyware. As Congress evaluates how to fend-off China’s threat, they should consider how existing proposals could expose Americans to higher cybersecurity risk.
In a time where smartphones have an ever growing role in Americans day to day use such as financial transactions, fitness tracking, personal communication, or navigation, a higher exposure to cybersecurity risk could prove extremely harmful for users. Thus, the role of app stores in protecting users from malware and spyware risk becomes increasingly important. Unfortunately, current proposals aimed at regulating app stores would erode company’s capacity to protect users.
Most, if not all, of these proposals would prohibit app stores and mobile operating systems from restricting sideloading, a term used for the practice of installing unauthorized, unvetted software through third party distribution systems. These proposals, justified under the guise of increased competition and disagreements over content moderation practices, would expose consumers to an increased risk of installing malicious software, particularly less tech-savvy populations.
Considering that the Chinese government has shown a propensity to use cyberattacks against U.S. citizens, policymakers should be weary of providing adversarial nations even more avenues to harm Americans. Sideloading mandates would do exactly that because consumers are more likely to download malicious software when downloading unsanctioned and unvetted applications through the use of third-party distribution systems. Policymakers concerned about the Chinese threats should look into strengthening cybersecurity, instead of eroding it, to counter this threat.
Published on September 12, 2024