US warns of hidden radios in solar-powered highway infrastructure

U.S. officials, through an advisory issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on August 20, have raised concerns about hidden electronic devices embedded in solar-powered highway infrastructure such as chargers, roadside weather stations, and traffic cameras. The advisory warns that rogue radios or undocumented cellular components found in foreign-made inverters and battery management systems (BMS)—many of which are manufactured in China—could enable remote tampering with critical transportation systems. Such interference could cause power surges, sabotage roadside equipment, or disrupt future autonomous vehicle networks, posing significant risks to U.S. infrastructure security. The FHWA’s advisory recommends that agencies create inventories of all inverters, conduct spectrum analysis to detect unauthorized communications, and disable or remove any undocumented radios. It also advises segmenting networks to limit potential damage from compromises. These warnings follow earlier discoveries of suspicious communication devices in Chinese inverters and batteries, not only in the U.S. but also in Denmark’s power supply networks. The Department of Transportation emphasized