CNN —Some Chinese-made cranes used at US ports contain communications equipment with no clear purpose or record of their installation, according to a new congressional investigation that will heighten US concerns that the cranes could be used for surveillance or sabotage. It comes amid heightened US-China tensions over national security and as the Coast Guard last month ordered the ports to better secure the Chinese-made cranes. The modems were found “on more than one occasion” on the ZPMC cranes, the aide said. Chinese-made cranes account for nearly 80% of the cranes used at US ports, according to the Coast Guard. Having modems embedded in cranes’ operational systems “physically bypasses” the ports’ traditional IT security defenses, Ayala told CNN.

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Persons: Mark Green, ZPMC, “, Liu Pengyu, ” Liu, John Vann, ” Cary Davis, ”, Biden, Marco Ayala, Ayala Organizations: CNN, Homeland Security, Coast Guard, CCP, Chinese Communist Party, ”, House Homeland Security, “, Embassy, Street Journal, Coast Guard Cyber Command, American Association of Port Authorities, U.S . Coast Guard, InfraGard National, Alliance Locations: China, Washington ,, Houston