FDD Warns Chinese Infrastructure Footprint and Cybersecurity Gaps Threaten NATO Military Mobility in Europe
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) has issued a report highlighting that NATO's ability to rapidly move military forces and equipment across Europe is jeopardized by deficiencies in infrastructure, regulatory barriers, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities, particularly those linked to Chinese state-owned entities. According to Jiwon Ma, a senior policy analyst at FDD's Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, civilian digital networks, which NATO neither owns nor directly regulates, are increasingly crucial for military mobility. Fragmented cybersecurity governance among NATO, the European Union, and national authorities leaves civilian transportation operators without consistent security standards. The report also points out that Chinese state-linked firms hold stakes in over 30 European port terminals, including facilities designated for U.S. military forces, creating potential avenues for intelligence collection and operational disruption in a crisis. Furthermore, Chinese firms have a footho...
