Chinese Military-Linked Chips Found in Popular Cellular Walkie-Talkies

Haloid’s engineers recently disassembled a popular push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) radio sold by a U.S.-based company that advertised the devices as secure, encrypted, and used by federal government agencies. Inside the devices, however, we found chips manufactured by Quectel Wireless Solutions Co., Ltd., a company recently designated by the U.S. Department of Defense as supporting the Chinese military. It was added to the Department’s 1260H list earlier this year.

This designation does not make the devices illegal to use in the United States (for most consumers and businesses). However, it does make them illegal for federal government use, including grant-funded programs and contractors. It also raises security concerns regarding their use in sensitive environments such as nuclear power plants, data centers, and facilities vulnerable to industrial espionage. One of our clients, a large power plant, relied on these devices in its operations until it engaged us to conduct a compliance audit.

In 2024, Haloid issued its first warning about the unrecognized threat posed by white-labeled cellular walkie-talkies that were sold by American companies that disguised their origins. At the time, our warning was based on theoretical risks. However, with the recent Department of Defense designation of Quectel, it is now a statutory violation to use these radios; and thus those who use them now face significant legal risks.

That said, it is important to note that not all devices imported from China pose security risks or support espionage. In fact, we import many products from China and rely on dozens of reputable Chinese suppliers. And we have also identified security vulnerabilities in cellular radios manufactured outside of China, including products made by well-known land mobile radio (LMR) industry incumbents.

However, the DoD designation of Quectel highlights the risks posed by unscrupulous U.S.-based resellers that obscure the origins and security of their devices, in order to gain the trust of high-risk organizations like public safety agencies and government contractors. These clients may be exposed to legal and cybersecurity risks when they rely on inaccurate or misleading representations regarding a product’s security and compliance status.

For legal reasons, we cannot disclose the name of the company selling these radios. However, we are developing a list of cellular walkie-talkie providers that have successfully completed our security audit process. We also offer a complimentary threat-assessment questionnaire that IT administrators can use to evaluate their cellular radio providers. Organizations seeking a more comprehensive review may also engage us to conduct a vendor compliance audit.

If you have a security issue to report and would like us to share it with the Haloid community, you can submit it here.