Since smartphone is essentially a computer, why the spy agencies don't advise banning imports of Chinese made PCs?
I have wondered this as well. You can buy small Mac Mini like PCs on Amazon with PFSense router/firewall installed. I would love for someone to take deep dive into one of these and see what is lurking in the OS, firmware, UFEI etc. Seems like an easy way for the Chinese to glean all sorts of info from users and maybe even use them in a botnet. I would include Lenovo in this category. Let's not forget all those security cameras and DVRs that formed the big botnet - they mostly came from China.
Given that Apples phones are also made in China they aren't anymore secure. It might take a bit of work but installation of compromised chips is entirely possible
It's more than just selling phones for Huawei. They want to get into the lucrative telecom equipment market in the U.S. as well. Carriers here spend over 30 billion a year in telecom equipment.
Given that Apples phones are also made in China they aren't anymore secure. It might take a bit of work but installation of compromised chips is entirely possible
I’ve forgotten the exact number, and it probably varies by model, but iPhone components are made by over 200 suppliers in over 40 countries.
Sure, final assembly is done in China, but that represents $5 -$10 of the final price. By $ value of the final product, it would arguably be more correct to describe the iPhone as Japanese or American.
given Apple is not using someone else’s spare parts bin, and is cutting its own silicon, and for critical components like Secure Enclave and TouchID/FaceID the communications between modules are internally encrypted on the logic board as a defence against physical attacks, it is incredibly difficult for a bad actor to make compromised parts and inject them to the manufacturing process, without them failing QA.
its much easier to do this to other vendors using generic parts.
keep in mind Apple’s building 200-250 million phones a year, and the QA process for that had to be very very automated. This makes it hard to inject fake parts, Most other vendors are making < 10% of that volume of their high end models (GS8 was being outsold by iPhone by about 9:1 last time I checked) and likely have more manual processes that are more vulnerable to subversion.
People don’t remember that Ed Snowden revealed the FBI was intercepting technology mid-flight on the way to customers so they could install spy devices before the delivery reached the customer?
Short memories these days.
Also, I agree Chinese government tied companies are a security and spying risk.
Agreed and adding a little. I don't think a spy agency or other bad actor needs to reverse engineer or defeat all of Apple's security measures. Tampering enough to compromise security is not always that hard.
Brief story: I bought a Cisco switch from a discount vendor. The packaging showed it originated in Hong Kong and went through Australia, which I thought was odd. Everything else looked spot-on though, including the internals. An IT auditor asked how I knew it was a genuine switch. Given the packaging, I said I didn't know as it was clearly at least a gray-market item. I got in touch with the FBI (Operation Cisco Raider) and then someone at Cisco. Based on the motherboard serial number, it was not in Cisco's production database. Was it a counterfeit or otherwise doctored switch? Was it just extra production after hours to line someone's pockets? Who knows? The FBI took it and that was it. What does this have to do with anything? iPhones are assembled in China as everyone else already noted. They're not made in Apple factories. Stuff can happen. Do I think it's happening to iPhones? Not really. But could be. I know there's quite a flow of spare parts available on eBay that probably came at least in part from the factories producing the phones (parts that failed tests or just stolen, who knows?)
People don’t remember that Ed Snowden revealed the FBI was intercepting technology mid-flight on the way to customers so they could install spy devices before the delivery reached the customer?
Short memories these days.
Also, I agree Chinese government tied companies are a security and spying risk.
That part of Snowden’s reveal was for so called “Tailored Access Operations” - that is not mass surveillance. It’s specific devices that they knew were going to specific organisations, intercepting in transit, and replacing components. It’s high effort stuff and even the NSA does not have the budget to do it to everyone.
that approach is most effective when the device being modified is built from commodity parts that are easy to substitute, and it’s defenses don’t take into account physical access inside the enclosure.
AT&T had the deal with Huawei signed. Everything that has been rumoured so far points to them being pressured out of the agreement. Some say Verizon was on board too.
Someone needs to wake up to the fact that Huawei technology underpins huge swathes of the world's telecommunications infrastructure and no one bats an eyelid (save for a select few). They have laid thousands upon thousands of kilometres in undersea telecommunications cables and will be a major player in 5G.
If they are up to no good they have absolutely everything they ever created to lose - forever. Would it be worth it? I can't see how.
We are possibly just weeks away from the release of the P20. If the rumours are true I bet there are more than a few congressional committee members who haven't slept for weeks. Imagine a phone capable of taking sub millimetre-precision 3D images and, in their minds at least, sending those images (of US faces no less!) Back to Huawei HQ (and then onto the Chinese government). I doubt that Huawei could convince them it simply isn't true.
The Chinese government is something else. Are they spying? Very probably. The British too.
The US government? Is it spying? Definitely.
We already know. It got its cover blown, wait for it, spying on Huawei! And we know this thanks to leaks from its own workers.
It's almost comical.
This stinks of protectionism and could turn nasty if we enter a tit-for-tat situation because consumers lose.
It seems evidence is no longer needed before curtailing commerce.
If the Chinese government were to put pressure on Tencent to drop iOS support, Apple would reel. What if they proposed exactly what the US government is doing and started singling out companies simply because they don't trust them?
It's quite foolish. This action will do nothing to reduce any risks because the risks are elsewhere. Data flows through Huawei infrastructure worldwide and it includes data from US citizens. Huawei has even handled US communication infrastructure.
The UK government has a dedicated department with deep access to Huawei equipment. It has never found anything strange. Maybe there is nothing strange to be seen and if someone has seen something, it might be an idea to put it on the table for once and for all because without any real evidence this kind of behaviour simply looks like protectionism.
So what's the difference between Huawei and Google? Neither allow for security. And USGovt really needs to decide what it wants - secure iOS or backdoor iOS, aka Android.
if the american people didn’t get to see the actual proof of russian interference, and instead only the word of the spy chiefs as proof, then why should we expect additional proof here? if their word is good enough to assure us russians meddled why is their word not good on chinese spying?
either you trust the spy chiefs, or you don’t. the spy chiefs don’t see trump as their boss and don’t feel they answer to him, so i’m not following on how this is just GOP inspired protectionism.
Huawei is aware of a range of U.S. government activities seemingly aimed at inhibiting Huawei's business in the U.S. market.
"Huawei is trusted by governments and customers in 170 countries worldwide and poses no greater cybersecurity risk than any ICT vendor, sharing as we do common global supply chains and production capabilities. We are committed to openness and transparency in everything we do.
"Ultimately, Huawei will continue to develop its global business through a significant commitment to innovation and R&D and to delivering technology that helps our customers succeed in all markets that value the innovation and value it delivers.”
I love how the western media angle things to suit whatever propaganda is hot right now;
British guy hacks FBI recently, he is lone wolf. Any Russian or Chinese person does the same and it's instantly linked to their government and it's cyber warfare blah blah.
It's probably not a coincidence that these 'security' concerns are being aired at the start of Huawei's 100 million dollar US branding campaign.
If I were Huawei, I would integrate these attempts to taint Huawei's image and sales into the campaign and take an active (as opposed to passive) role, playing the victim card in one hand and 'selling' the company's technology in the other.
1. Make it public knowledge but wrapped in marketing and the branding campaign that while the US is concerned about Huawei and spying, the Snowden files made clear that Huawei itself was a specific target for spying via the NSA.
2. Make it public knowledge that for years, different US committees have questioned Huawei's intent in the US and that no 'evidence' of any wrongdoing has ever been made to stick.
3. Make clear that Huawei products and infrastructure are already available in the US and it was only when Huawei chose to make a concerted effort in the US market that these accusations surfaced again.
4. That the US has used its influence to affect Huawei's business dealings far from US borders (for example, Solomon Islands 4,000km undersea connection to Australia)
5. Point out where Huawei technology is world leading and specify that it carries out research with some US universities as well as handling private telecommunications infrastructure in the US too.
6. Reinforce what they have already stated. That Huawei has infrastructure dealings with over 170 countries worldwide and is a major player in 5G.
7. Explain in detail, but again wrapped in the marketing style of a branding campaign, the security protections that Huawei uses on its devices and backbone infrastructure, highlighting one of the core uses of the NPU: privacy.
I think you reach a point where you have to call people out if only to defend yourself because this news is potentially severely damaging to the company's financials.
To put things into perspective, a couple of links.
Undersea cables carry over 97% of internet traffic and are difficult to protect. There has been a spike in proximity alerts for Russian submarines. All these cables have 'landings' where they take land and both the British and US governments and probably the Chinese too, are said to have tentacles in them. Even Pakistan seems to want in:
If you have the option of drinking from the very core of internet traffic, why bother with handsets? It doesn't make a lot of sense. If you want access to an individual's handset then you target the handset of the individual.
The following article gives some pointers on how things work and it's clear that the golden goose of espionage is not the handset market itself but the pipes data travels through. The article is not permanent and the site may limit the amount of times you can read it. It also details the Solomon Islands cable project with Australia.
It's probably not a coincidence that these 'security' concerns are being aired at the start of Huawei's 100 million dollar US branding campaign.
Conspiracy theory nonsense. If it’s US protectionism, how come the spy chiefs didn’t come out against Korea’s Samsung? Or any of the other non-US based brands?
Sorry your knockoff brand are government funded spies, bro. But...at least you have the KFC phone. That’s gotta be worth something, right?
It's probably not a coincidence that these 'security' concerns are being aired at the start of Huawei's 100 million dollar US branding campaign.
Conspiracy theory nonsense. If it’s US protectionism, how come the spy chiefs didn’t come out against Korea’s Samsung? Or any of the other non-US based brands?
Sorry your knockoff brand are government funded spies, bro. But...at least you have the KFC phone. That’s gotta be worth something, right?
The reason is very simple. You are naive. China has been a POTENTIAL enemy of western culture for hundreds of years.
People don’t remember that Ed Snowden revealed the FBI was intercepting technology mid-flight on the way to customers so they could install spy devices before the delivery reached the customer?
Short memories these days.
Also, I agree Chinese government tied companies are a security and spying risk.
That part of Snowden’s reveal was for so called “Tailored Access Operations” - that is not mass surveillance. It’s specific devices that they knew were going to specific organisations, intercepting in transit, and replacing components. It’s high effort stuff and even the NSA does not have the budget to do it to everyone.
that approach is most effective when the device being modified is built from commodity parts that are easy to substitute, and it’s defenses don’t take into account physical access inside the enclosure.
I wasn’t suggesting this was widespread practice, but It is used for specific targets.
It's probably not a coincidence that these 'security' concerns are being aired at the start of Huawei's 100 million dollar US branding campaign.
Conspiracy theory nonsense. If it’s US protectionism, how come the spy chiefs didn’t come out against Korea’s Samsung? Or any of the other non-US based brands?
Sorry your knockoff brand are government funded spies, bro. But...at least you have the KFC phone. That’s gotta be worth something, right?
If the US government hasn't been able to prove anything to justify its fears, I doubt you have anything to back up what you are saying either.
Most governments failed to grasp the true impact of communications and social networking before it happened.
If Samsung didn't already have a major foothold in the US market, I am sure it would be getting the same treatment by the current administration as Huawei.
It's becoming clearer by the day that this is protectionism beyond any other reason.
If major security issues are a worry, then act on them and outright ban the sale of the devices. It's as simple as that. The trouble is that it looks like the alleged security issues don't really exist beyond what Huawei has publicly stated. They pose no more risk than any other major handset maker. Plain and simple.
If these reports are true, things will probably get worse before they get better. A shame as the only losers will be US consumers. Will Apple suffer in China (and on a wider scale) as a result? It's possible.
I see you have not provided anything to counter my previous points or the links provided.
It's probably not a coincidence that these 'security' concerns are being aired at the start of Huawei's 100 million dollar US branding campaign.
Conspiracy theory nonsense. If it’s US protectionism, how come the spy chiefs didn’t come out against Korea’s Samsung? Or any of the other non-US based brands?
Sorry your knockoff brand are government funded spies, bro. But...at least you have the KFC phone. That’s gotta be worth something, right?
If the US government hasn't been able to prove anything to justify its fears, I doubt you have anything to back up what you are saying either.
Most governments failed to grasp the true impact of communications and social networking before it happened.
If Samsung didn't already have a major foothold in the US market, I am sure it would be getting the same treatment by the current administration as Huawei.
It's becoming clearer by the day that this is protectionism beyond any other reason.
If major security issues are a worry, then act on them and outright ban the sale of the devices. It's as simple as that. The trouble is that it looks like the alleged security issues don't really exist beyond what Huawei has publicly stated. They pose no more risk than any other major handset maker. Plain and simple.
If these reports are true, things will probably get worse before they get better. A shame as the only losers will be US consumers. Will Apple suffer in China (and on a wider scale) as a result? It's possible.
I see you have not provided anything to counter my previous points or the links provided.
You probably aren't aware of it, being in Spain and all, but there's a new cold war going on, with cyber warfare being a major weapon between the West and rivals such as China, North Korea, and Russia. You would be naive if you don't think that Huawei is providing intelligence gathering where it can get away with it in its communication build outs around the world. That certain politicians in the U.S. have made it their aim to block Huawei is quite true, and yet, Huawei's phones are available for sale in the U.S; just not through major carriers.
How can that be?
Do you think that sales drop-offs in China of Samsung products are not correlated with ongoing tensions between North Korea and South Korea? I certainly do, and I suspect that the Chinese are very good at gaming the value of their large market with both their parochial, and global interests, and fair trade doesn't come to mind as the primary goal.
I'd like to think that people in the West are aware of all the moves that the Chinese are making worldwide to create new markets, and new defense agreements, that the West will have to counter with large military buildups in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. Be advised that the trade routes in South Asia will absolutely be impacted by Chinese military expansion, and countering that will be expensive, and probably of limited value.
BTW. Apple has a facility in Reno, Nevada, that receives, and quarantines, incoming server components for it's server farm at U.S.A. Parkway. I'm guessing that this is standard practice for Google, AWS, Facebook, and MS as well. Can't imagine that all countries are all going to be as capable of that, and Huawei certainly has been guilty in the past of leaving backdoors in its gear.
Truth is, Huawei's access to the U.S. market isn't your concern.
It's probably not a coincidence that these 'security' concerns are being aired at the start of Huawei's 100 million dollar US branding campaign.
Conspiracy theory nonsense. If it’s US protectionism, how come the spy chiefs didn’t come out against Korea’s Samsung? Or any of the other non-US based brands?
Sorry your knockoff brand are government funded spies, bro. But...at least you have the KFC phone. That’s gotta be worth something, right?
If the US government hasn't been able to prove anything to justify its fears, I doubt you have anything to back up what you are saying either.
Most governments failed to grasp the true impact of communications and social networking before it happened.
If Samsung didn't already have a major foothold in the US market, I am sure it would be getting the same treatment by the current administration as Huawei.
It's becoming clearer by the day that this is protectionism beyond any other reason.
If major security issues are a worry, then act on them and outright ban the sale of the devices. It's as simple as that. The trouble is that it looks like the alleged security issues don't really exist beyond what Huawei has publicly stated. They pose no more risk than any other major handset maker. Plain and simple.
If these reports are true, things will probably get worse before they get better. A shame as the only losers will be US consumers. Will Apple suffer in China (and on a wider scale) as a result? It's possible.
I see you have not provided anything to counter my previous points or the links provided.
You probably aren't aware of it, being in Spain and all, but there's a new cold war going on, with cyber warfare being a major weapon between the West and rivals such as China, North Korea, and Russia. You would be naive if you don't think that Huawei is providing intelligence gathering where it can get away with it in its communication build outs around the world. That certain politicians in the U.S. have made it their aim to block Huawei is quite true, and yet, Huawei's phones are available for sale in the U.S; just not through major carriers.
How can that be?
Do you think that sales drop-offs in China of Samsung products are not correlated with ongoing tensions between North Korea and South Korea? I certainly do, and I suspect that the Chinese are very good at gaming the value of their large market with both their parochial, and global interests, and fair trade doesn't come to mind as the primary goal.
I'd like to think that people in the West are aware of all the moves that the Chinese are making worldwide to create new markets, and new defense agreements, that the West will have to counter with large military buildups in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. Be advised that the trade routes in South Asia will absolutely be impacted by Chinese military expansion, and countering that will be expensive, and probably of limited value.
BTW. Apple has a facility in Reno, Nevada, that receives, and quarantines, incoming server components for it's server farm at U.S.A. Parkway. I'm guessing that this is standard practice for Google, AWS, Facebook, and MS as well. Can't imagine that all countries are all going to be as capable of that, and Huawei certainly has been guilty in the past of leaving backdoors in its gear.
Truth is, Huawei's access to the U.S. market isn't your concern.
Why not quarantine Huawei gear in the US?
This is effectively what happens in the UK.
Your reasoning is applicable in the opposite direction too. The Chinese government can do far more, and far more effectively than the US government, to hit for example Apple than the US can to Huawei.
The US has chosen that route all by itself so it wouldn't be inconceivable for the Chinese government to hit back and set its targets on Apple - just for starters. After all, no evidence is now needed. The simple 'fear' is enough, so if Tencent turns around and says iOS is EoL for WeChat following conversations with Chinese security agencies everyone will be happy, right? Or what if they simply recommended not buying iPhones and were done with it.
Huawei had a lot to gain but little to lose.
Apple has far more to lose.
But the real losers are consumers. Let's not forget that. This US tactic (while no evidence is produced) is just protectionism.
Any cold war has little or nothing to do with handsets, and for all the claims of foul play by the US, it is US agencies that get caught doing exactly what they are protesting against.
So let's be patient and see who gets hurt the most, because I doubt we've seen the end of this.
It's probably not a coincidence that these 'security' concerns are being aired at the start of Huawei's 100 million dollar US branding campaign.
Conspiracy theory nonsense. If it’s US protectionism, how come the spy chiefs didn’t come out against Korea’s Samsung? Or any of the other non-US based brands?
Sorry your knockoff brand are government funded spies, bro. But...at least you have the KFC phone. That’s gotta be worth something, right?
If the US government hasn't been able to prove anything to justify its fears, I doubt you have anything to back up what you are saying either.
Most governments failed to grasp the true impact of communications and social networking before it happened.
If Samsung didn't already have a major foothold in the US market, I am sure it would be getting the same treatment by the current administration as Huawei.
It's becoming clearer by the day that this is protectionism beyond any other reason.
If major security issues are a worry, then act on them and outright ban the sale of the devices. It's as simple as that. The trouble is that it looks like the alleged security issues don't really exist beyond what Huawei has publicly stated. They pose no more risk than any other major handset maker. Plain and simple.
If these reports are true, things will probably get worse before they get better. A shame as the only losers will be US consumers. Will Apple suffer in China (and on a wider scale) as a result? It's possible.
I see you have not provided anything to counter my previous points or the links provided.
You probably aren't aware of it, being in Spain and all, but there's a new cold war going on, with cyber warfare being a major weapon between the West and rivals such as China, North Korea, and Russia. You would be naive if you don't think that Huawei is providing intelligence gathering where it can get away with it in its communication build outs around the world. That certain politicians in the U.S. have made it their aim to block Huawei is quite true, and yet, Huawei's phones are available for sale in the U.S; just not through major carriers.
How can that be?
Do you think that sales drop-offs in China of Samsung products are not correlated with ongoing tensions between North Korea and South Korea? I certainly do, and I suspect that the Chinese are very good at gaming the value of their large market with both their parochial, and global interests, and fair trade doesn't come to mind as the primary goal.
I'd like to think that people in the West are aware of all the moves that the Chinese are making worldwide to create new markets, and new defense agreements, that the West will have to counter with large military buildups in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. Be advised that the trade routes in South Asia will absolutely be impacted by Chinese military expansion, and countering that will be expensive, and probably of limited value.
BTW. Apple has a facility in Reno, Nevada, that receives, and quarantines, incoming server components for it's server farm at U.S.A. Parkway. I'm guessing that this is standard practice for Google, AWS, Facebook, and MS as well. Can't imagine that all countries are all going to be as capable of that, and Huawei certainly has been guilty in the past of leaving backdoors in its gear.
Truth is, Huawei's access to the U.S. market isn't your concern.
Why not quarantine Huawei gear in the US?
This is effectively what happens in the UK.
Your reasoning is applicable in the opposite direction too. The Chinese government can do far more, and far more effectively than the US government, to hit for example Apple than the US can to Huawei.
The US has chosen that route all by itself so it wouldn't be inconceivable for the Chinese government to hit back and set its targets on Apple - just for starters. After all, no evidence is now needed. The simple 'fear' is enough, so if Tencent turns around and says iOS is EoL for WeChat following conversations with Chinese security agencies everyone will be happy, right? Or what if they simply recommended not buying iPhones and were done with it.
Huawei had a lot to gain but little to lose.
Apple has far more to lose.
But the real losers are consumers. Let's not forget that. This US tactic (while no evidence is produced) is just protectionism.
Any cold war has little or nothing to do with handsets, and for all the claims of foul play by the US, it is US agencies that get caught doing exactly what they are protesting against.
So let's be patient and see who gets hurt the most, because I doubt we've seen the end of this.
Consumers have already lost out.
Again why is this your concern, and why do you not also stand up for ZTE? Playing favorites as always?
This is just U.S. politics in action, as I mentioned some time ago, all related to China's military and economic expansion., and China's restricted markets There certainly may be protectionism involved, but you haven't been able to define it.
Consumer aren't losing out; there are plenty of alternatives.
Are you being compensated for your consistent Huawei support, on an Apple forum I might add, or are you just compulsive? I haven't been able to figure that out. It has to be one or the other.
Comments
Argument from ignorance fallacy: deployed. Huawei reputation: salvaged.
Sure, final assembly is done in China, but that represents $5 -$10 of the final price. By $ value of the final product, it would arguably be more correct to describe the iPhone as Japanese or American.
given Apple is not using someone else’s spare parts bin, and is cutting its own silicon, and for critical components like Secure Enclave and TouchID/FaceID the communications between modules are internally encrypted on the logic board as a defence against physical attacks, it is incredibly difficult for a bad actor to make compromised parts and inject them to the manufacturing process, without them failing QA.
its much easier to do this to other vendors using generic parts.
keep in mind Apple’s building 200-250 million phones a year, and the QA process for that had to be very very automated. This makes it hard to inject fake parts, Most other vendors are making < 10% of that volume of their high end models (GS8 was being outsold by iPhone by about 9:1 last time I checked) and likely have more manual processes that are more vulnerable to subversion.
Brief story: I bought a Cisco switch from a discount vendor. The packaging showed it originated in Hong Kong and went through Australia, which I thought was odd. Everything else looked spot-on though, including the internals. An IT auditor asked how I knew it was a genuine switch. Given the packaging, I said I didn't know as it was clearly at least a gray-market item. I got in touch with the FBI (Operation Cisco Raider) and then someone at Cisco. Based on the motherboard serial number, it was not in Cisco's production database. Was it a counterfeit or otherwise doctored switch? Was it just extra production after hours to line someone's pockets? Who knows? The FBI took it and that was it. What does this have to do with anything? iPhones are assembled in China as everyone else already noted. They're not made in Apple factories. Stuff can happen. Do I think it's happening to iPhones? Not really. But could be. I know there's quite a flow of spare parts available on eBay that probably came at least in part from the factories producing the phones (parts that failed tests or just stolen, who knows?)
that approach is most effective when the device being modified is built from commodity parts that are easy to substitute, and it’s defenses don’t take into account physical access inside the enclosure.
It really is as simple as that.
AT&T had the deal with Huawei signed. Everything that has been rumoured so far points to them being pressured out of the agreement. Some say Verizon was on board too.
Someone needs to wake up to the fact that Huawei technology underpins huge swathes of the world's telecommunications infrastructure and no one bats an eyelid (save for a select few). They have laid thousands upon thousands of kilometres in undersea telecommunications cables and will be a major player in 5G.
If they are up to no good they have absolutely everything they ever created to lose - forever. Would it be worth it? I can't see how.
We are possibly just weeks away from the release of the P20. If the rumours are true I bet there are more than a few congressional committee members who haven't slept for weeks. Imagine a phone capable of taking sub millimetre-precision 3D images and, in their minds at least, sending those images (of US faces no less!) Back to Huawei HQ (and then onto the Chinese government). I doubt that Huawei could convince them it simply isn't true.
The Chinese government is something else. Are they spying? Very probably. The British too.
The US government? Is it spying? Definitely.
We already know. It got its cover blown, wait for it, spying on Huawei! And we know this thanks to leaks from its own workers.
It's almost comical.
This stinks of protectionism and could turn nasty if we enter a tit-for-tat situation because consumers lose.
It seems evidence is no longer needed before curtailing commerce.
If the Chinese government were to put pressure on Tencent to drop iOS support, Apple would reel. What if they proposed exactly what the US government is doing and started singling out companies simply because they don't trust them?
It's quite foolish. This action will do nothing to reduce any risks because the risks are elsewhere. Data flows through Huawei infrastructure worldwide and it includes data from US citizens. Huawei has even handled US communication infrastructure.
The UK government has a dedicated department with deep access to Huawei equipment. It has never found anything strange. Maybe there is nothing strange to be seen and if someone has seen something, it might be an idea to put it on the table for once and for all because without any real evidence this kind of behaviour simply looks like protectionism.
either you trust the spy chiefs, or you don’t. the spy chiefs don’t see trump as their boss and don’t feel they answer to him, so i’m not following on how this is just GOP inspired protectionism.
Source: http://www.techradar.com/news/huawei-rejects-us-consumer-security-threat-claim-from-cia-and-fbi
British guy hacks FBI recently, he is lone wolf.
Any Russian or Chinese person does the same and it's instantly linked to their government and it's cyber warfare blah blah.
If I were Huawei, I would integrate these attempts to taint Huawei's image and sales into the campaign and take an active (as opposed to passive) role, playing the victim card in one hand and 'selling' the company's technology in the other.
1. Make it public knowledge but wrapped in marketing and the branding campaign that while the US is concerned about Huawei and spying, the Snowden files made clear that Huawei itself was a specific target for spying via the NSA.
2. Make it public knowledge that for years, different US committees have questioned Huawei's intent in the US and that no 'evidence' of any wrongdoing has ever been made to stick.
3. Make clear that Huawei products and infrastructure are already available in the US and it was only when Huawei chose to make a concerted effort in the US market that these accusations surfaced again.
4. That the US has used its influence to affect Huawei's business dealings far from US borders (for example, Solomon Islands 4,000km undersea connection to Australia)
5. Point out where Huawei technology is world leading and specify that it carries out research with some US universities as well as handling private telecommunications infrastructure in the US too.
6. Reinforce what they have already stated. That Huawei has infrastructure dealings with over 170 countries worldwide and is a major player in 5G.
7. Explain in detail, but again wrapped in the marketing style of a branding campaign, the security protections that Huawei uses on its devices and backbone infrastructure, highlighting one of the core uses of the NPU: privacy.
I think you reach a point where you have to call people out if only to defend yourself because this news is potentially severely damaging to the company's financials.
To put things into perspective, a couple of links.
Undersea cables carry over 97% of internet traffic and are difficult to protect. There has been a spike in proximity alerts for Russian submarines. All these cables have 'landings' where they take land and both the British and US governments and probably the Chinese too, are said to have tentacles in them. Even Pakistan seems to want in:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/23/pakistan-tried-to-tap-international-web-traffic-via-underwater-cables-report-says
If you have the option of drinking from the very core of internet traffic, why bother with handsets? It doesn't make a lot of sense. If you want access to an individual's handset then you target the handset of the individual.
The following article gives some pointers on how things work and it's clear that the golden goose of espionage is not the handset market itself but the pipes data travels through. The article is not permanent and the site may limit the amount of times you can read it. It also details the Solomon Islands cable project with Australia.
https://www.ft.com/content/96513f58-d959-11e7-a039-c64b1c09b482
Sorry your knockoff brand are government funded spies, bro. But...at least you have the KFC phone. That’s gotta be worth something, right?
Most governments failed to grasp the true impact of communications and social networking before it happened.
If Samsung didn't already have a major foothold in the US market, I am sure it would be getting the same treatment by the current administration as Huawei.
It's becoming clearer by the day that this is protectionism beyond any other reason.
If major security issues are a worry, then act on them and outright ban the sale of the devices. It's as simple as that. The trouble is that it looks like the alleged security issues don't really exist beyond what Huawei has publicly stated. They pose no more risk than any other major handset maker. Plain and simple.
If these reports are true, things will probably get worse before they get better. A shame as the only losers will be US consumers. Will Apple suffer in China (and on a wider scale) as a result? It's possible.
I see you have not provided anything to counter my previous points or the links provided.
How can that be?
Do you think that sales drop-offs in China of Samsung products are not correlated with ongoing tensions between North Korea and South Korea? I certainly do, and I suspect that the Chinese are very good at gaming the value of their large market with both their parochial, and global interests, and fair trade doesn't come to mind as the primary goal.
I'd like to think that people in the West are aware of all the moves that the Chinese are making worldwide to create new markets, and new defense agreements, that the West will have to counter with large military buildups in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. Be advised that the trade routes in South Asia will absolutely be impacted by Chinese military expansion, and countering that will be expensive, and probably of limited value.
BTW. Apple has a facility in Reno, Nevada, that receives, and quarantines, incoming server components for it's server farm at U.S.A. Parkway. I'm guessing that this is standard practice for Google, AWS, Facebook, and MS as well. Can't imagine that all countries are all going to be as capable of that, and Huawei certainly has been guilty in the past of leaving backdoors in its gear.
Truth is, Huawei's access to the U.S. market isn't your concern.
This is effectively what happens in the UK.
Your reasoning is applicable in the opposite direction too. The Chinese government can do far more, and far more effectively than the US government, to hit for example Apple than the US can to Huawei.
The US has chosen that route all by itself so it wouldn't be inconceivable for the Chinese government to hit back and set its targets on Apple - just for starters. After all, no evidence is now needed. The simple 'fear' is enough, so if Tencent turns around and says iOS is EoL for WeChat following conversations with Chinese security agencies everyone will be happy, right? Or what if they simply recommended not buying iPhones and were done with it.
Huawei had a lot to gain but little to lose.
Apple has far more to lose.
But the real losers are consumers. Let's not forget that. This US tactic (while no evidence is produced) is just protectionism.
Any cold war has little or nothing to do with handsets, and for all the claims of foul play by the US, it is US agencies that get caught doing exactly what they are protesting against.
So let's be patient and see who gets hurt the most, because I doubt we've seen the end of this.
Consumers have already lost out.
This is just U.S. politics in action, as I mentioned some time ago, all related to China's military and economic expansion., and China's restricted markets There certainly may be protectionism involved, but you haven't been able to define it.
Consumer aren't losing out; there are plenty of alternatives.
Are you being compensated for your consistent Huawei support, on an Apple forum I might add, or are you just compulsive? I haven't been able to figure that out. It has to be one or the other.