Former NSA official warns that using Chinese-manufactured solar panels on American farms may endanger the US power grid

A former analyst who worked with the National Security Agency has raised concerns about China’s actions in strategically placing equipment that could disrupt U.S. commerce. This comes after unauthorized communication devices were discovered inside Chinese solar power inverters.

During examinations conducted by U.S. experts to identify potential security threats, it was revealed that these rogue communication devices were not documented in any official product materials for the inverters. The presence of such devices has sparked worries among experts and authorities.

According to two sources who disclosed this information to Reuters, the rogue power inverters contain unreported communication pathways that could enable the bypassing of firewalls from a remote location. This poses a significant risk given that these inverters serve as the link between solar panels and electrical grids, making them a potential target for exploitation.

Rocky Cole, former intelligence analyst at the National Security Agency and co-founder of iVerify, told Fox News Digital it’s “very conceivable” that China is using these rogue power inverters to gain access to American infrastructure.

China’s national flag flutters on Pingtan island, the closest point in China to Taiwan’s main island, in southeast China’s Fujian province on Dec. 11, 2024. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)

Cole said this is just another example of China preparing for a possible conflict involving the U.S.

“There are communications devices in these really strategic places that you can imagine could theoretically be used to disrupt U.S. commerce in the event of some sort of conflict,” Cole said. “It’s difficult not to view Chinese-made hardware in the realm of critical infrastructure as a national security threat in my mind.”

Plants grow through an array of solar panels in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on May 6, 2022. (Reuters/Brian Snyder/File Photo)

“Any time that you have any time that there’s a supply chain outside the U.S. or U.S.-allied countries, that presents opportunities for what’s called in intelligence parlance, supply chain operation, which means intelligence operatives work with the manufacturers to implant backdoors in the hardware,” he added. 

“Without strict oversight of supply chains, it becomes very difficult to certify with any confidence that your hardware doesn’t contain these backdoors implanted in supply chain operations. I think it’s critically important that American officials are aware of the risks posed by Chinese-made hardware as it relates to critical infrastructure.”

Reuters contributed to this report.