The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Australia's government on Thursday banned major Chinese telecoms firm Huawei Technologies from supplying equipment for its planned 5G mobile network, citing risks of foreign interference.
The 1000-word statement did not mention China, or the Chinese telecommunications equipment giants Huawei or ZTE. Nor did it plainly state the bombshell decision that they are to be banned from building Australia's new telecommunications network.
The fifth generation mobile telecoms system, or 5G, is a big deal. It's to be the key architecture of an increasingly wired nation, connecting power and water systems, medical and driverless technologies, systems in homes and hospitals, factories and farms, enabling the so-called "internet of things".
If you're getting the impression that the government didn't want to draw attention to the announcement, you're right. After months of careful scrutiny, the cabinet's national security committee had made the decision a week earlier. Then sat on it.
Why? Because it was nervous about Beijing's reaction. Canberra was still negotiating its way out of a Chinese freeze on ministerial contacts and didn't want to bring on another any earlier than necessary.
But everyone involved knew that it inevitably would bring on Beijing's wrath. And so, when the ministers decided they couldn't delay any longer, it did.
[...] All of Australia's intelligence and security agencies were in accord that the big Chinese firms must be shut out of the fifth-generation, or 5G, mobile telecommunications network, according to participants in the process.
The Communications Department had produced an analysis of how this might increase the cost to Australian consumers. Huawei had claimed that it had the highest quality, lowest price 5G technology. To exclude Huawei would be to punish Australian firms and families, it argued.
But despite the claims, the Communications Department concluded that any such assessment was merely speculative – the global technology and engineering specifications for 5G are still being drafted.
Related: U.S. Intelligence Agency Heads Warn Against Using Huawei and ZTE Products
The U.S. Intelligence Community's Demonization of Huawei Remains Highly Hypocritical
Huawei CEO Still Committed to the U.S. Market
Rural Wireless Association Opposes U.S. Government Ban on Huawei and ZTE Equipment
ZTE Suspends Operations Due to U.S. Ban (UPDATED)
New Law Bans U.S. Government from Buying Equipment from Chinese Telecom Giants ZTE and Huawei
Related Stories
Intelligence agency heads have warned against using Huawei and ZTE products and services:
The heads of six major US intelligence agencies have warned that American citizens shouldn't use products and services made by Chinese tech giants Huawei and ZTE. According to a report from CNBC, the intelligence chiefs made the recommendation during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday. The group included the heads of the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and the director of national intelligence.
During his testimony, FBI Director Chris Wray said the 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." He added that this would provide "the capacity to maliciously modify or steal information. And it provides the capacity to conduct undetected espionage."
These warnings are nothing new. The US intelligence community has long been wary of Huawei, which was founded by a former engineer in China's People's Liberation Army and has been described by US politicians as "effectively an arm of the Chinese government." This caution led to a ban on Huawei bidding for US government contracts in 2014, and it's now causing problems for the company's push into consumer electronics.
Verizon and AT&T recently cancelled plans to sell Huawei's Mate 10 Pro smartphone.
Don't use a Huawei phone because it's too Chinese. Don't use an Apple phone because strong encryption is not "responsible encryption". Which phone is just right for the FBI?
Previously: U.S. Lawmakers Urge AT&T to Cut Ties With Huawei
Related: FBI Director Christopher Wray Keeps War on Encryption Alive
U.S. Government Reportedly Wants to Build a 5G Network to Thwart Chinese Spying
Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956
The U.S. Intel Community's Demonization of Huawei Remains Highly Hypocritical
We've noted for some time how Chinese hardware vendor Huawei has been consistently accused of spying on American citizens without any substantive, public evidence. You might recall that these accusations flared up several years ago, resulting in numerous investigations that culminated in no hard evidence whatsoever to support the allegations. We're not talking about superficial inquiries, we're talking about eighteen months, in-depth reviews by people with every interest in exposing them. One anonymous insider put it this way in the wake of the last bout of hysteria surrounding the company:
We knew certain parts of government really wanted" evidence of active spying, said one of the people, who requested anonymity. "We would have found it if it were there.
[...] This week, hysteria concerning Huawei again reached a fevered pitch, as U.S. intelligence chiefs, testifying before Congress over Russian hacking and disinformation concerns, again proclaimed that Huawei was spying on American citizens and their products most assuredly should not be used:
At the hearing, FBI Director Chris Wray testified, "We're 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." Purchasing Huawei or ZTE products, Wray added, "provides the capacity to maliciously modify or steal information. And it provides the capacity to conduct undetected espionage.
Which values would those be, exactly? Would it be the values, as leaked Edward Snowden docs revealed, that resulted in the NSA hacking into Huawei, stealing source code, then attempting to plant its own backdoors into Huawei products? Or perhaps it's the values inherent in working closely with companies like AT&T to hoover up every shred of data that touches the AT&T network and share it with the intelligence community? Perhaps it's the values inherent in trying to demonize encryption, by proxy weakening security for everyone?
Huawei's consumer business group CEO Richard Yu is not giving up on selling smartphones and other devices in the U.S., despite warnings against the company made by U.S. government officials and a lack of support from retailers. The company recently released a new flagship smartphone, the Huawei P20 Pro:
"We are committed to the US market and to earning the trust of US consumers by staying focused on delivering world-class products and innovation," Yu told CNET in an email. "We would never compromise that trust."
The comments mark a defiant response to the vague warnings made by US officials that have effectively crippled Huawei's ability to get its phones in front of consumers. In January, AT&T pulled out of a landmark plan to sell the Mate 10 Pro, an important high-end Huawei phone. Verizon reportedly also scuttled a deal to carry the device based on political pressure. CNET was also first to report that Best Buy, the US' largest electronics retailer, dropped Huawei phones from its roster.
[...] "The security risk concerns are based on groundless suspicions and are quite frankly unfair," Yu said. "We welcome an open and transparent discussion if it is based on facts." [...] "We work with 46 of the 50 global operators," Yu told CNET, "And have maintained a very strong security record because security is one of our top priorities." [...] "Even without the United States market, we'll be No. 1 in the world," Yu said earlier this week.
Huawei reported a 27% jump in profits in 2017, despite its struggle to establish itself in the U.S. market.
See also: Huawei P20 launch highlights the risks of U.S. paranoia over Chinese security
Huawei's P20 Pro is a hugely promising phone that will upset Americans
Previously: U.S. Lawmakers Urge AT&T to Cut Ties With Huawei
Verizon Cancels Plans to Sell Huawei Phone Due to U.S. Government Pressure
The U.S. Intelligence Community's Demonization of Huawei Remains Highly Hypocritical
Banning Chinese network gear is a really bad idea, small ISPs tell FCC
The Federal Communications Commission's proposed ban on Huawei and ZTE gear in government-funded projects will hurt small Internet providers' efforts to deploy broadband, according to a lobby group for rural ISPs.
As previously reported, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's proposal would prevent Universal Service Fund (USF) money from being used to buy equipment or services from companies that "pos[e] a national security risk." If the FCC approves the proposal, the ban is most likely to prevent the purchase of equipment from Chinese technology vendors Huawei and ZTE. But it could also affect other companies and technology from other countries, depending on how the FCC determines which companies pose national security threats.
ISPs who use federal money to build or expand broadband service would end up with fewer options for buying network gear. This would "irreparably damage broadband networks (and limit future deployment) in many rural and remote areas throughout the country," the Rural Wireless Association (RWA) told the FCC in a filing yesterday.
The RWA represents rural wireless Internet providers that offer home or mobile Internet service and have fewer than 100,000 subscribers. A recent Wall Street Journal report said that small ISPs rely on Huawei gear more than large telcos do.
Previously: U.S. Lawmakers Urge AT&T to Cut Ties With Huawei
U.S. Government Reportedly Wants to Build a 5G Network to Thwart Chinese Spying
U.S. Intelligence Agency Heads Warn Against Using Huawei and ZTE Products
The U.S. Intelligence Community's Demonization of Huawei Remains Highly Hypocritical
Chinese Tech Giant on Brink of Collapse in New U.S. Cold War (archive)
Not Apple. Not Huawei. The first casualty of the high-tech cold war between the United States and China might be the biggest electronics maker you've never heard of.
The Chinese firm ZTE said on Wednesday [PDF] it had ceased "major operating activities" after the Trump administration banned the company last month from using components made in the United States. With manufacturing halted at the ZTE plant in Shenzhen, factory workers have been getting called in for training sessions every other day or so — a snooze, they say. The rest of the time, they loaf around in nearby dorms.
Trading in the company's shares has been suspended for weeks. Staff members have been instructed, in new guidelines reviewed by The New York Times, to reassure anxious clients, while being sure to avoid discussing with them the American technology from which the firm is cut off for the next seven years.
One of China's most internationally successful technology suppliers, with about $17 billion in annual revenue, ZTE is facing a death sentence. The Commerce Department has blocked its access to American-made components until 2025, saying the company failed to punish employees who violated trade controls against Iran and North Korea.
Update: President Trump has vowed to get ZTE "back into business, fast" (archive):
President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2018
Also at Fortune, WSJ, USAToday and CNN.
Previously: U.S. Intelligence Agency Heads Warn Against Using Huawei and ZTE Products
Huawei CEO Still Committed to the U.S. Market
Rural Wireless Association Opposes U.S. Government Ban on Huawei and ZTE Equipment
ZTE Responds to U.S. Ban on Sales by American Companies to ZTE
President Trump yesterday signed a defense funding bill that included a sweeping ban on the US government using technology supplied by Chinese telecommunications giants ZTE and Huawei. The bill also includes a narrower ban on using surveillance gear provided by Chinese companies Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, or Dahua Technology for national security applications.
The legislation directs federal agencies to stop using the Chinese-made hardware within two years. If that proves impractical, an agency can apply for a waiver to permit a longer phase-out period.
Obviously, being banned from selling to the US government is a significant blow to these companies. But overall the bill actually represents something of a reprieve for ZTE. Back in June, the US Senate passed a version of the bill that would have re-imposed an export ban that would have been a de facto death sentence for ZTE because ZTE is heavily dependent on components like Qualcomm chips and Google's Android operating system.
Previously: Verizon Cancels Plans to Sell Huawei Phone Due to U.S. Government Pressure
U.S. Intelligence Agency Heads Warn Against Using Huawei and ZTE Products
The U.S. Intelligence Community's Demonization of Huawei Remains Highly Hypocritical
Huawei CEO Still Committed to the U.S. Market
Rural Wireless Association Opposes U.S. Government Ban on Huawei and ZTE Equipment
ZTE Suspends Operations Due to U.S. Ban (UPDATED)
Despite U.S. Pressure, Germany Refuses To Exclude Huawei's 5G Technology
The Trump administration insists that Chinese firm Huawei, which makes 5G technology, could hand over data to the Chinese government. The U.S. has warned European allies, including Germany, Hungary and Poland, to ban Huawei from its 5G network or risk losing access to intelligence-sharing.
Germany has refused to ban any company, despite pressure from the U.S. Instead, Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated that her country would instead tighten security rules. "Our approach is not to simply exclude one company or one actor," she told a conference in Berlin on Tuesday, "but rather we have requirements of the competitors for this 5G technology."
Did The U.S. Just Lose Its War With Huawei?
"There are two things I don't believe in," Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday, referring to Germany's standoff with the United States over Huawei's inclusion in her country's 5G rollout. "First, to discuss these very sensitive security questions publicly, and, second, to exclude a company simply because it's from a certain country."
Europe now seems likely to settle on 'careful and considered' inclusion of Huawei instead of any blanket bans. Chancellor Merkel stressed this week that a joined-up EU response would be "desirable", and Italy and the U.K. are also backing away from Washington's prohibition on Huawei's 5G technology. If they fold, it is likely the broader European Union will follow suit. And if those key European allies can't be carried, what chance Asia-Pacific, Africa, the Middle East?
Michael Kovrig, former Canadian diplomat, reportedly arrested in China
A former Canadian diplomat has reportedly been arrested in China. The International Crisis Group said Tuesday it's aware of reports that its North East Asia senior adviser Michael Kovrig has been detained.
The Brussels-based non-governmental organization said in a statement it's doing everything possible to obtain additional information about Kovrig's whereabouts and that it will work to ensure his prompt release.
The Globe and Mail in Toronto and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported the arrest, citing unnamed sources.
Reports of Kovrig's detention come after China warned Canada of consequences for its recent arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver's airport. It's unclear if there's any link between the cases.
Some Chinese companies ban iPhones, require Huawei after CFO's arrest: report
Some Chinese companies are banning iPhones and requiring that their employees use Huawei products following the arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer, according to a new Yahoo News report. Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, was arrested by Canadian authorities last Saturday at the request of the U.S. after allegedly violating trade sanctions against Iran. Chinese officials have strongly protested Meng's detention.
Huawei is 'open' to selling 5G chips to Apple for iPhones, marking a big shift in strategy
Huawei is "open" to selling high-speed 5G chips and other silicon to rival smartphone maker Apple, marking a significant shift in the Chinese tech giant's thinking toward its own intellectual property.
The world's largest networking equipment maker has been in the consumer market for a relatively short amount of time with its own-brand smartphones, but it has quickly risen to become the third-largest vendor by market share.
Huawei started by selling phones at low prices but in recent years has shifted focus to increase its market share in the high end of the market, battling Apple and Samsung. As part of that move, Huawei has developed its own chips, including a modem to give smartphones 5G connectivity, and a processor to power its devices. 5G is next-generation mobile internet, which delivers data at very high speeds.
So far, those pieces of technology have been used only in Huawei's devices. That could change. In an interview with CNBC that aired Monday, Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei said the company would consider selling its 5G chips to Apple. "We are open to Apple in this regard," Ren said. The CEO spoke in Mandarin, which was translated into English by an official translator.
Apple products (e.g. new iPhones) are likely to use 5G modems from Intel, although they won't be ready until 2020. Huawei has been shunned by U.S. companies due to warnings and pressure from the U.S. government claiming that Huawei products enable Chinese espionage. There has even been discussion of the U.S. government developing a 5G network free of Chinese influence. Given that there aren't many places in the country where you can get a "5G" connection yet, is there any point to this offer?
Related:
Intel Announces Development of 5G Modems (Due in 2019)
U.S. Intelligence Agency Heads Warn Against Using Huawei and ZTE Products
New Law Bans U.S. Government from Buying Equipment from Chinese Telecom Giants ZTE and Huawei
Australia Bans China's Huawei (and maybe ZTE) from 5G Mobile Network Project
Intel Speeds Up Rollout of 5G Modems
Washington Asks Allies to Drop Huawei
Australian Residents Reject Huawei Small Cell Boxes
Germany and the EU Likely to Embrace Huawei, Rebuff the U.S.
EU to Drop Threat of Huawei Ban but Wants 5G Risks Monitored
Huawei's Equipment Poses 'Significant' Security Risks, UK Says
Huawei Arrest Tests China's Leaders as Fear and Anger Grip Elite
The arrest of one of China's leading tech executives by the Canadian police for extradition to the United States has unleashed a combustible torrent of outrage and alarm among affluent and influential Chinese, posing a delicate political test for President Xi Jinping and his grip on the loyalty of the nation's elite.
The outpouring of conflicting sentiments — some Chinese have demanded a boycott of American products while others have expressed anxiety about their investments in the United States — underscores the unusual, politically charged nature of the Trump administration's latest move to counter China's drive for technological superiority.
In a hearing on Friday in Vancouver, Canadian prosecutors said the executive, Meng Wanzhou of the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, faced accusations of participating in a scheme to trick financial institutions into making transactions that violated United States sanctions against Iran.
Unlike a new round of tariffs or more tough rhetoric from American officials, the detention of Ms. Meng, the company's chief financial officer, appears to have driven home the intensifying rivalry between the United States and China in a visceral way for the Chinese establishment — and may force Mr. Xi to adopt a tougher stance against Washington, analysts said. In part, that is because Ms. Meng, 46, is so embedded in that establishment herself.
Previously: Canada Arrests Huawei's Global Chief Financial Officer in Vancouver
Related: New Law Bans U.S. Government from Buying Equipment from Chinese Telecom Giants ZTE and Huawei
Australia Bans China's Huawei (and maybe ZTE) from 5G Mobile Network Project
Washington Asks Allies to Drop Huawei
(Score: 4, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday August 28 2018, @08:50AM (6 children)
Some wiser heads than my own felt it would be best to buy all the construction materials from the Soviets.
Hilarity Ensued.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Tuesday August 28 2018, @01:22PM (5 children)
On topic: Can Australia's "ban" of Chinese companies for foreign intelligence reasons also be interpreted to apply to NSA supplied equipment to build the nation's new 5G network?
Off topic: It would be expensive and difficult to ship building materials for a new embassy into Russia, and keep them completely secure all the way to the construction site, and throughout construction. We could save a lot of money by buying construction materials and labor from Russia to build our insecure bug-riddled embassy. I'm sure Vladimir assured Trump that he could totally trust Russia, even though he should not trust his own US Intelligence organization.
Some people need assistants to hire some assistance.
Other people need assistance to hire some assistants.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday August 28 2018, @04:11PM (2 children)
Or maybe earlier than that. I shall pray to the I'm Feeling Lucky God.
Ayup. 1987:
PRESIDENT ORDERS INQUIRY IN MOSCOW INTO EMBASSY SITE
In reality they budgeted $150M, of which $100M had already been spent building the damn thing before the "serious security flaws" were discovered.
Isn't "discovering serious security flaws" what we have the NSA around for. To quote my Naval Civil Service father (he got out after Vietnam, went back to school then back to the Navy as a civilian engineer):
"Whenever we buy a new computer we have to wait six months for an expert to fly out from Washington then another month for him to Bless the damn thing."
Perhaps our computers need to be blessed. Perhaps the blessing of new computers went out of fashion a while back, seeing as how it would have been a Yuge PITA what with Windows 3.5, Internet Explorer, Mac OS 7.5 and Cyberdog.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday August 28 2018, @04:49PM (1 child)
Do you realize how boring that is compared to spying on global communications?
The NSA isn't interested in discovering security flaws except to the degree it allows them to spy on communications. It is not interested in defense against security flaws because that's not as fun as spying.
Some people need assistants to hire some assistance.
Other people need assistance to hire some assistants.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday August 29 2018, @06:27AM
While I expect you're right, James Bamford wrote in "The Puzzle Palace" that the NSA's mandate includes defense against foreign attacks. Consider SELinux.
The NSA operates a purely unclassified division that works to secure the computers of These United States. Perhaps its funding has been cut back so as to more-generously fund The War On Brown People.
I read the Seventh Edition in I think 1993. Bamford is a _meticulous_ historian who issues a new edition whenever the history of the NSA changes in a significant way. That he is a historian leads much of The Puzzle Palace to be as dead as doornails because he's endlessly discussion the NSA's many re-orgs.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by arslan on Tuesday August 28 2018, @11:08PM
Sure, if we consider NSA foreign intelligence but we don't. Our gubbermint consider any US 3 letter agencies their seniors. Proof? We'd condemn our own citizen, accused but not convicted, if they ask - see Assange, yet we'd try so very hard to save convicted aussie drug mules in Indonesia.
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Wednesday August 29 2018, @12:16AM
I sincerely wish it would be, but since Australian governments seem wedded to the idea of turning boot licking into a high art form, I doubt it.
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 28 2018, @01:46PM (1 child)
So I understand that means Australian telco hardware giants will be providing the infrastructure...
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 28 2018, @02:34PM
They were banned from the NBN too after a backdoor was found in a router
(Score: 3, Interesting) by RamiK on Tuesday August 28 2018, @01:50PM
Failed to impress the Europeans: https://5g-ppp.eu/5g-trials-2/ [5g-ppp.eu]
compiling...
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 28 2018, @02:51PM
The first thing China did was to use their great firewall to block access to Australian news sites. Stop all those inquisitive Chinese from finding out the other side of the story.
(Score: 4, Informative) by tangomargarine on Tuesday August 28 2018, @03:14PM (1 child)
So maybe you could tell us what the article *did* say, instead of just implying you pulled this out of your ass?
Buried way at the bottom of the blather in the fluffy article. And from my reading it doesn't actually say foreign companies are banned. A lot of maybes and "expected to"s.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 28 2018, @08:51PM
maybe Australia is just doing its but in the trade war.. https://www.dw.com/en/zte-huawei-bans-genuine-security-concerns-or-part-of-china-trade-spat/a-43456452 [dw.com]