US State Dept to limit Chinese computer use: source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The State Department, reacting to
security concerns after its purchase of computers from a
Chinese company, will not use the equipment for classified
information, an aide to Virginia Republican Rep. Frank Wolf
said on Thursday.

In March, the State Department said it had purchased a
batch of computers from China’s Lenovo Group Ltd..

At the time, Michael Wessel, a member of the
congressionally created U.S.-China Economic and Security Review
Commission, said the purchase should be investigated,
especially if codes embedded into the computers could be
remotely activated.

The security concerns came shortly after Congress pressured
a state-owned Arab company, Dubai Ports World, into walking
away from plans to manage several U.S. port terminals.

“The computers will not be used for transmitting classified
information,” said the congressman’s aide, who asked not to be
identified.

A Lenovo official on Thursday said he was still gathering
information on Wolf’s news conference and declined to comment.

Wolf chairs a House panel that oversees federal funds for
the State Department. He was scheduled to talk to reporters
about the State Department computer deal later on Thursday.

In March, the State Department said nearly 16,000 Lenovo
computers, valued at more than $13 million, were purchased
under standard U.S. government purchasing rules. The computers
were procured through CDW Corp., a government contractor based
in Vernon Hills, Illinois.

Lenovo bought IBM’s personal computer division last May.
The computers bought by the State Department were assembled in
the United States and Mexico with integrated circuits made in
Taiwan, according to the company.

While the computer order was for unclassified systems with
removable hard drives, some experts raised concerns about the
opportunity for intelligence gathering through hardware and
software.

Last year, China’s state-controlled CNOOC Ltd. dropped its
bid to acquire U.S. oil and gas company Unocal Corp. after a
strong backlash from the U.S. Congress.

(Additional reporting by Jim Wolf)