Собеседник агентства отметил, что Вашингтон поднимет вопрос безопасности на мероприятиях по дипломатической линии и встречах с представителями мобильной индустрии. «Мы предупреждаем, что нужно быть очень, очень осторожными, и мы призываем не спешить с подписанием контрактов с ненадёжными поставщиками из таких стран, как Китай. Сотрудничество с ненадёжным поставщиком, таким как Huawei или ZTE, будет иметь самые разные последствия для вашей национальной безопасности и, поскольку мы являемся военными союзниками, в отношении нашей национальной безопасности»,— сказал представитель Госдепартамента.
В США барьеры в отношении китайских Huawei и ZTE начали выстраивать в 2017 году, когда американским правительственным учреждениям запретили закупать производимое этими компаниями оборудование, а на американских военных базах перестали продавать смартфоны Huawei и ZTE. ФБР и ЦРУ также рекомендовали американцам не покупать смартфоны этих производителей.
В конце января Минюст США официально предъявил обвинения Huawei Technologies и двум его подразделениям в промышленном шпионаже, мошенничестве, попытке отмывания денег и препятствовании правосудию.
В декабре 2018 по запросу США в соседней Канаде была задержана финансовый директор (и дочь основателя Huawei) Мэнг Ваньджоу в связи с обвинениями в её адрес по части нарушения эмбарго на поставки телекоммуникационного оборудования в Иран, а также обману банковских организаций в США, через которые проводились оплаты этих поставок.
Ряд российских СМИ и популярных техноблогеров, проплаченных китайцами (например, ixbt.com, mobile-review.com и некоторые другие), начали истеричную кампанию по обелению деятельности китайской агентуры в демократических странах. Их основные "доводы" сводятся к вопросу из фарсового боевика времён Перестройки "Красная жара": "Какие ваши доказательства?!". То есть эти люди хотят, чтобы спецслужбы, с трудом добывающие информацию о шпионской деятельности Китая, выложили на стол все козыри, дав, таким образом, оппонентам из КНР наводки на источники возможных утечек с последующими арестами агентов, работающих там под прикрытием. На это пропекинским шестёркам можно сказать лишь одно: обойдётесь.
По нашим данным, веские доказательства у США против Huawei, ZTE и ряда других "компаний" (а по сути агетов влияния ЦК КПК) давно имеются и теперь некоторые кейсы будут доведены до сведения европейских партнёров по дипломатическим каналам. Кроме того, кое-какие доказательства наверняка всплывут во время судебного процесса в отношении Huawei, который должен начаться в ближайшие месяцы.
Американские дипломаты напоминают, что Китай является однопартийным, по сути тоталитарным государством, где приняты жёсткие законы, согласно которым ни одна местная компания не может отказать в сотрудничестве со спецслужбами КНР, в том числе касающегося разведывательной деятельности.
Агентство Reuters отмечает, что хвалёные британские спесцлужбы "не заметили" очередную уязвимость в коммуникационном оборудовании Huawei, покуда им об этом не сообщили американцы. Всё это говорит о том, что в Европе не хватает квалифицированных кадров, способных противостоять китайскому кибервторжению должным образом.
Тем не менее, такие страны как Италия, Франция и Германия, где недавно побывали пекинские эмиссары с "заманчивыми предложениями", пытаются откреститься от предупреждений американцев.
"Может быть у США имеется больше информации об уязвимостях в оборудовании Huawei, но пока нам об этом не станет доподлинно известно, мы не можем запрещать его во Франции", - заявил один французский чиновник на этой неделе.
В заключение ещё раз напомним, что любая страна (или союзный военный блок типа НАТО) имеет полное право обеспечивать свою безопасность так, как считает нужным. И никакие клоуны из продажных российских СМИ им не указ.
P.S. Для владеющих английским языком мы делаем репост статьи Брайана Дэба "Почему вы не должны покупать смартфоны Huawei, если вам дорога конфиденциальность" ("Why You Shouldn’t Buy Huawei Phones If You Care About Privacy"), опубликованной профильным ресурсом makeuseof.com в минувшем сентябре (оригинал статьи здесь). Автор вполне доходчиво поясняет в чём дело и приводит ряд уже подтверждённых фактов неприглядной деятельности Huawei в стане своих "идеологических врагов".
Reuters: U.S. warns European allies not to use Chinese gear for 5G networks
The United States sees the European Union as its top priority in a global effort to convince allies not to buy Huawei equipment for next-generation mobile networks, a U.S. State Department Official said on Tuesday.
After meetings with the European Commission and the Belgian government in Brussels, U.S. officials are set to take a message to other European capitals that the world’s biggest telecommunications gear maker poses a security risk, said the official, who declined to be named.
“We are saying you need to be very, very cautious and we are urging folks not to rush ahead and sign contracts with untrusted suppliers from countries like China,” the official said.
The United States fears China could use the equipment for espionage - a concern that Huawei Technologies Co. says is unfounded. The push to sideline Huawei in Europe, one of its biggest markets, is likely to deepen trade frictions between Washington and Beijing.
Washington is using “multiple tracks”, the U.S. official said, including talks at the U.S.-led NATO alliance in Brussels and at international conferences in Barcelona and Munich: “Europe is definitely where we see this as the top priority.”
Huawei gear is widely used in Europe but the push is aimed at equipment for the new fifth generation mobile technology, which promises to link up everything from vehicles to factories at far greater speeds.
While Washington has largely barred Huawei from supplying its government and contractors, it sees advanced European preparations for 5G networks as a security risk that could also endanger the United States.
“Going with an untrusted supplier like Huawei or ZTE will have all sorts of ramifications for your national security and ... since we are military allies with almost all members of the European Union, on our national security as well,” the official said.
Asked for evidence of intelligence work by Huawei or its rival ZTE, the U.S. official said American alarm stemmed more from China’s status as a one-party state, a series of Chinese laws approved in 2017, and counter-terrorism legislation.
The official cited language in the National Intelligence Law that directs individuals and companies to aid China’s intelligence-gathering and keep such work secret.
“Huawei and ZTE ... are ensconced in a one-party state where they are simply not equipped to resist directions from Beijing.”
The official also pointed to vulnerabilities found in older networks built by Huawei in Britain, even when they were monitored by a laboratory overseen by British intelligence.
Reuters reported exclusively on Jan. 30 that the European Commission, the EU executive, was considering proposals that would ban Huawei from 5G networks, but that work was at an early stage.
Concern is also growing in Germany. But France is walking a fine line, with parliament reviewing a provision that would increase government powers to make checks on 5G equipment.
“We may not have all the information the United States has. But we take decisions based on what we know. And at this stage, we have not decided to ban Huawei in France,” a French official said this week.
Why You Shouldn’t Buy Huawei Phones If You Care About Privacy
(by Ryan Dube, www.makeuseof.com)
What would you say if I said that your Huawei phone could be spying on you? You’d probably call me a conspiracy theorist. But would you believe that the United States intelligence community feels the same way?
Whether you’ve had previous concerns, or are worried about the privacy of your own Huawei phone, here’s what you need to know.
Are Anti-Huawei Claims Protectionism?
Early in 2018, the head of six major US intelligence agencies issued a warning at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. They warned that US citizens shouldn’t use any commercial products offered by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE.
Numerous tech media outlets dismissed claims from the intelligence community as nothing more than “protectionism”. Tech journalists claimed that there was no solid evidence supporting those claims.
In January of 2018, Motherboard tech journalist Karl Bode wrote that there’s no evidence to support the claims against Huawei:
“The problem: nobody has provided a shred of hard evidence that the company has done anything wrong, raising the question of whether this is glorified protectionism hiding behind the banner of national security.”
However, the US intelligence community isn’t the only government intelligence community to issue such warnings.
Governments Warn Against Huawei
Also in 2018, the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre advised telecommunication companies in the U.K. to avoid technology offered by Chinese firm ZTE. The reason? That state-owned ZTE presents a “risk to U.K. national security that could not be mitigated effectively or practicably.”
In 2016, an immigration officer at the Hong Kong consulate in Canada denied immigration applications for two Chinese Huawei employees. The consulate implied that there was evidence of espionage not available to the public. The denial letter stated:
“…there are reasonable grounds to believe that you are a member of the inadmissible class of persons described in section 34(1)(f) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.”
Are these warnings really based on nothing at all? Or are they founded upon real intelligence evidence? History shows that there is reason to believe that Huawei phones are a very real personal and national security risk.
Huawei and the Communist Party
In the 2018 Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, FBI Director Chris Wray explained that much of the concern relates to the very unsettling relationship between all Chinese companies and the Chinese Communist Party.
Wray stated that the government was:
“…deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that don’t share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks.”
The statement “beholden to foreign governments” is a reference to a Communisty Party law that requires all Chinese companies to work for State intelligence agencies if requested. The Communist Party often writes itself into company law, and there’s nothing the company or investors can do about it.
This means that if Huawei were to acquire control over a large part of the telecommunications market in the Western world, the Chinese intelligence community could potentially have access to user data 5 Excellent Open-Source Tools for Keeping Your Personal Data Secure 5 Excellent Open-Source Tools for Keeping Your Personal Data Secure Concerned about your online privacy and security? Don't trust your ISP, VPN, or browser? Then the answer is to embrace open-source security software. It could also intercept, or even shut down, all communications from those devices.
The risk is apparently high enough that the Pentagon bans the sale or use of Huawei or ZTE phones on US military bases. Pentagon spokesman Maj. Dave Eastburn hinted that intelligence communities have substantial evidence of a serious threat. He told Fox News, “For security reasons, I can’t get into the technical aspects of potential threats.”
The Canadian government may not be as vocal as the US intelligence community on the matter. But according to Global News, these same devices are also banned from use on Canadian military bases.
Huawei Is Not an Innocent Victim
Tech journalists writing that animosity toward Huawei is unfounded are overlooking the history. There is in fact evidence that justifies avoiding the use of Huawei, KTE, or any other Chinese-made telecommunication products:
* The CEO and founder of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei, joined the Communist Party in 1978. He was also a high ranking member in the engineer corps for China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
* In 2016, numerous Chinese phones, including one branded as “Blu”, were infected with third-party firmware from Shanghai Adups Technology. That software transmitted user data back to Chinese servers.
* In 2012, a group of former intelligence officers known as the Langley Intelligence Group Network (LIGNET) published a surpising report. According to the group, “a sensitive LIGNET source associated with Huawei” reported that Huawei had used an “undisclosed electronic backdoor that allowed it remote access to the company’s equipment without permission.”
* In 2014, a Huawei engineer was caught hacking a mobile tower in Andhra Pradesh. This compromised the Indian government owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam’s (BSNL) network.
* A 2015 FBI intelligence report indicated that Huawei had been subsidized by the Chinese government to the tune of $100 billion. This begs the question, what does the Chinese government get in return for that substantial investment?
* Huawei has been accused of stealing trade secrets from numerous major US companies like Motorola, Cisco, and T-Mobile.
In fact, some claim that the Chinese government’s real interest isn’t national security, but obtaining trade secrets from Western companies. So the real risk of a private citizen owning a Hauwei phone may be if that citizen works for a major US corporation.
Sending and receiving company information over that phone could put trade secrets at risk.
How to Protect Yourself
It is true that you face threats to your privacy and security from other sources that have nothing to do with China. There’s NSA spying 5 Times Your Data Was Shockingly Handed Over to the NSA 5 Times Your Data Was Shockingly Handed Over to the NSA Many companies hand over information to the NSA without a second thought. Here are some high-profile organizations that gave the NSA access to user data. Read More , Facebook security failures 4 Reasons Why Facebook Is a Security and Privacy Nightmare 4 Reasons Why Facebook Is a Security and Privacy Nightmare Facebook is no longer the king of the social media castle. If you value your anonymity, security, and privacy, here are some great reasons to quit Facebook today. Read More , and constant phishing threats How to Protect Yourself From Extortion Phishing Scams How to Protect Yourself From Extortion Phishing Scams Scammers are guilt-shaming users of adult material with threats of sharing their online habits in the "You Should Be Ashamed Of Yourself" extortion phishing scam. Find out what this is, and how to avoid it. Read More .
But the threat of Huawei and other Chinese companies tied so closely to the Chinese Government is an entirely different beast. It’s unnerving to think that yet another government might be trying to view your communications 5 Times Your Data Was Shockingly Handed Over to the NSA 5 Times Your Data Was Shockingly Handed Over to the NSA Many companies hand over information to the NSA without a second thought. Here are some high-profile organizations that gave the NSA access to user data. Read More and your web usage. Because the malware is baked right into the firmware, it’s nearly impossible for a regular user to identify that it exists.
But what’s more disturbing is the risk that involves your day job.
Consider a scenario where you may use a Hauwei or KTE phone to have a conversation with a friend or a work colleague. It could be a discussion about a business deal, a programming project you’re working on, or important business meetings. You could inadvertently pass along proprietary information to a foreign government without even realizing it.
What global intelligence communities are hinting to the world is that there is enough evidence in their posession to warrant banning these phones from military bases and governments. Even if you don’t believe them, history has turned up enough wrongdoing by these companies to justify very real concern.
Avoiding phones made by Chinese manufacturers is a good start. But don’t forget that there are many other things you need to do to protect the security of your personal data 7 Shifty Ways Your Smartphone Is Violating Your Privacy 7 Shifty Ways Your Smartphone Is Violating Your Privacy Can you really have privacy on a smartphone? Let's take a look at the huge phone privacy risks associated with using one.
