New amendments will prevent acquisitions of Chinese, Russian and Belarusian-manufactured technology in the public sector, says Vice Minister M. Abukevičius
Equipment and technology from untrusted manufacturers will be prohibited in institutions and sectors of vital importance for national defence, while organisations in charge of critical and public sector information resources will not be able to acquire information and communications technology and services from suppliers or beneficiaries if they are based in an untrustworthy state or territory. That is ruled by the amendments to the Law on Public Procurement that were drafted by the Ministry of National Defence and approved at the Seimas as matter of urgency on March 17 2022. The amendments target risks to national security posed by unreliable information and communications equipment and services.
“One of the priorities of this Government and a result of National Security Strategy implementation is the elimination of untrustworthy technology manufacturers. We have put into force the security measures in 5G sector already, and today we are pioneers in the European Union in managing national security risks arising from the integration of unreliable IT, equipment or services in critical infrastructure by means of such scale. The amendment to the law passed today will prevent public sector entities from acquiring technologies produced by manufacturers of China, Russia and Belarus,” underscores Vice Minister of National Defence Margiris Abukevičius.
According to Vice Minister, when the amendments become effective, key Lithuanian national security authorities will be able to control the origin of acquired goods and their suppliers efficiently and thus ensure the security of the supply chain. The new regulation will be applicable to the procuring organisations if it is a manager of critical information infrastructure, has a role in ensuring mobilization, or carries out its activity in the area of defence or any sector of importance to national defence. There are nearly 400 such entities in Lithuania.
“Our goal is to make sure that hardware and software is bought only from states whose suppliers are trustworthy, it means, members of NATO, European Union, European Free Trade Association, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,” says Vice Minister M. Abukevičius.
The Government will finalize the lists of states that present risks for national security and of the most sensitive IT equipment and services on the basis of the amendments before they come into force.
The amendments will be primarily applied to new acquisitions, while the equipment from untrusted suppliers already in use will be supported until 1 January 2025. “We, however, urge the public authorities to waste no time and plan the transition as soon as possible, ahead of the deadline,” says Vice Minister of National Defence M. Abukevičius.
