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US PC Purchase From Lenovo Prompts Paranoia
David Utter
Staff Writer
2006-03-28
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
Lenovo has a deal in play to provide 15,000 PCs to the State Department, but fears that the Chinese government may have stuffed those computers with bugging equipment have prompted calls for a probe into the matter.
The computers, purchased from Lenovo through reseller CDW, have caused a similar eruption of fear and paranoia that scuttled another foreign technology deal, Israel-based Check Point's purchase of Maryland-based security company Sourcefire.
Donald Manzullo (R-Il) will call for an investigation into whether or not CDW won the contract because Chinese-owned Lenovo subsidized the price of the PCs, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Manzullo told WSJ he feared Lenovo "can underbid to gain market share."
Meanwhile, a Congressional advisory board called the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission may ask the Bush Administration to review the purchase. More than a quarter of Lenovo is owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a Chinese government agency.
The PCs will be assembled in Mexico and North Carolina, with circuit boards built in Taiwan and not mainland China, the BBC reported. The article noted Lenovo's response, where they said they have nothing to hide and welcome an investigation.
In North Carolina, where much of the work will be completed, WRAL-TV's Rick Smith at LocalTechWire.com blasted the "anti-foreign uproar" surrounding the purchase. He noted how the Lenovo purchase of IBM's PC business had to pass a number of US security checks before the acquisition could be completed.
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Tag: Lenovo
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About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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