The Czech Republic’s National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NUKIB) is instructing critical infrastructure organizations in the country to avoid using Chinese technology or transferring user data to servers located in China.

The agency warned that these actions constitute a significant cybersecurity threat and should be entirely avoided unless there’s a reasonable justification for continuing the practice.

The NUKIB states that it has re-evaluated its risk estimate of significant disruptions caused by China, now assessing it at a “High” level, indicating a high probability of occurrence.

“Current critical infrastructure systems are increasingly dependent on storing and processing data in cloud repositories and on network connectivity enabling remote operation and updates,” reads NUKIB’s warning.

“In practice, this means that technology solution providers can fundamentally influence the operation of critical infrastructure and/or access important data, making trust in the reliability of …