Lawmakers crack down on CCP influence in US government tech, warn of potentially 'devastating' cyber attack

FIRST ON FOX: There is a new bipartisan effort in Congress to take on the growing threat of cyberattacks by China and other U.S. adversaries.

A bill led by Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, would impose new guardrails on the technology the U.S. government is able to purchase by forcing a federal agency or office to only purchase it from "original equipment manufacturers" or "authorized resellers," according to the bill text obtained by Fox News Digital.

Fallon explained this would ensure U.S. technology is bought from "trusted sources" rather than a third party that could potentially be sourcing that equipment from nations like China, Russia or Iran.

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"[O]ur adversaries have been targeting our hardware and software systems through selling the U.S. government counterfeit products through what are known as ‘gray market’ sellers," Fallon explained. "These products, although marketed as genuine hardware, allow our enemies to gain access to U.S. government systems, making it far easier to conduct subsequent cyberattacks."

The Texas Republican warned the U.S. was being hit with "millions of attacks daily," and that the growing sophistication of artificial intelligence (AI) technology was making cyberattacks easier to pull off.

The House bill, the Securing America’s Federal Equipment (SAFE) Supply Chains Act, is backed by a bipartisan companion bill in the Senate.

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That push is being led by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Senate Homeland Security Committee Chair Gary Peters, D-Mich.

A "gray market" refers to an alternative channel for