China launches cybersecurity review of Palo Alto Networks products

China launched a cybersecurity review of products sold in the country by Palo Alto Networks on Thursday, putting one of the most visible U.S. cybersecurity vendors under fresh pressure in Beijing. The Cyberspace Administration of China said the review was tied to risks to critical information infrastructure, the kind of network layer that Chinese regulators increasingly treat as a matter of national security.

The market reacted quickly. Palo Alto Networks shares fell as much as 4% in premarket trading, BigGo Finance said, underscoring how even an open-ended regulatory review can move a global technology stock before any formal restrictions are announced. That uncertainty matters because Palo Alto sells firewalls and cloud security services to governments and corporations around the world, including multinational buyers that depend on stable approval processes, predictable procurement rules and the handling of sensitive information.

The cyberspace administration said the review would “ensure the secure and stable operation of critical information infrastructure.” That language fits a broader Chinese strategy that has steadily tightened oversight of foreign technology suppliers in sectors seen as strategically sensitive. China issued new cybersecurity review measures in 2022, and legal analyses describe the framework as part of the enforcement of national security and cybersecurity laws covering critical information infrastructure operators. In practice, that gives Beijing a way to scrutinize not just whether a product works, but whether the vendor itself is viewed as a risk.

The move also reflects the wider U.S.-China tech decoupling that has pushed software, data flows and digital infrastructure into the center of geopolitical competition. Palo Alto has already felt that pressure. In February 2026, the company chose not to publicly tie China to a hacking campaign, fearing retaliation from Beijing, a sign of how exposed foreign cyber vendors can be in the market. On the U.S. side, FBI Director Christopher Wray said in January 2024 that hackers linked to the Chinese government were targeting critical U.S. infrastructure, a reminder that cybersecurity firms now sit at the intersection of commerce and state security.

For multinational customers and cross-border vendors, the message is straightforward: in cybersecurity, market access is no longer separate from geopolitics. Every procurement decision can carry regulatory risk, and every foreign supplier can become part of a larger contest over control of digital infrastructure.