China launched a formal security review of products sold in the country by US technology firm Palo Alto Networks Inc., ramping up pressure on the company months after accusing it of harboring links to intelligence services. The Cyberspace Administration of China said in a statement Thursday that the review was necessary to protect critical infrastructure, citing a pair of national security laws. Shares in Palo Alto Networks fell as much as 4.2% before later paring losses in pre-market trading. Beijing accused a host of American and Israeli firms including Palo Alto Networks earlier this year of being connected to spy agencies, though it didn’t provide evidence of those claims. At the time, a government directive seen by Bloomberg News, which also named Fortinet Inc. and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., said that Chinese companies’ use of US and Israeli cybersecurity products could result in sensitive data being sent overseas.

Full report : China launches a formal national security review of Palo Alto Networks products sold in the Chinese market, citing a need to protect critical infrastructure.