Amazon’s Asian rival Shein wants to be supply chain giant, but some fear Chinese cyber spying inside global trade links
CNBC
July 8, 2024
Lori Ann LaRocco
The rise of Asian fast fashion retailer Shein already has Amazon on alert, but its plans of selling proprietary supply-chain technology and services to companies around the world has attracted attention from another corner: U.S. cybersecurity firms and national security experts who warn of the potential for a company with close ties to China spying on the supply chain as it seeks to grow its global logistics footprint.
Shein logistics software is in beta testing with select supply chain customers, according to a person familiar with its plans.
The U.S. supply chain has millions of connection points that link companies of all sizes. What makes the connections hum are application programming interfaces, or APIs, used by companies to increase efficiencies and save money. API software allows applications to communicate with each other in real-time and is crucial to logistics companies to integrate with freight providers, streamline operations, and create efficiencies for providers in their supply chain and ultimately, the end customer.
“Data ownership and protecting against cybersecurity threats are absolutely essential in the context of global supply chains,” said Srini Cherukuri, vice president of IT infrastructure & chief information security officer at ITS Logistics. “Conducting due diligence of data security and privacy practices of everyone in the supply chain is crucial to protecting against cybersecurity attacks, mitigating impacts, and optimizing the recovery time of business operations.”
