While not the specific target of any recent Trump administration actions, because of its ties to the Chinese, Lenovo currently has unmitigated access to millions of Americans’ personal information. This should raise red flags, given the company’s history of security and privacy abuses. Lenovo’s Watch X sent user locations to a server in China without their knowledge; its Superfish adware installed in hundreds of thousands of computers allowed third-parties to spy on browser traffic, resulting in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission; security researchers found that Adups data mining software on Lenovo phones could collect personal data without consent. There are many other examples that should give potential buyers pause, not just for the chance that sensitive information falls into the hands of third parties, but that the Chinese government obtains it and freely exploits it.

Because of its ties to the Chinese government, and backdoors prevalent in their products, Lenovo has been banned by intelligence agencies in the “Five Eyes” countries – the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. Last decade, the State Department banned Lenovo from classified networks and the U.S. Navy later banned the company’s servers from its ships. Just last month, the Department of Defense inspector general flagged the “cybersecurity risks” of using Lenovo products. Despite these warnings, consumers, businesses and government agencies purchase Lenovo computers at an alarming rate. They are often seen as an inexpensive and user-friendly alternative to other products. The facts above are unknown to or ignored by too many consumers and procurement officials across the nation. So is the reality that the largest PC maker is owned by a Chinese, state-controlled institute connected to espionage activity.