Gov. Abbott warns of Chinese spying through medical tech

AUSTIN – Texas Governor Greg Abbott is alerting state health organizations to the possibility of Chinese espionage via medical technology. The Governor’s office on X released a letter directing state health agencies to mitigate data privacy concerns related to Chinese-sourced medical technologies.”

Abbott directed Texas state health agencies and public university systems to address potential cybersecurity risks linked to Chinese-manufactured medical devices, citing concerns that sensitive patient data could be accessed by foreign actors.Spying on Texans will not be permitted by the Chinese Communist Party.

The directive comes after warnings from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that some Chinese-made patient monitors, such as the Contec CMS8000 and Epsimed MN-120, have cybersecurity flaws that could enable unauthorized remote access and the exfiltration of protected health information.