News - China: US security concerns re Huawei and ZTE are groundless

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“We can't go on together, with suspicious minds.”

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I think the nature of modern hardware and the necessity to audit hardware firmwares for critical infrastructure use is a very real issue in our times. Unfortunately IP zealots have made this more difficult as the need increases, not less.

I'd rather have the Chinese planting a bug in my phone than the Americans.

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Originally Posted by this_is_gav

I'd rather have the Chinese planting a bug in my phone than the Americans.

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Indeed. But neither is ideal. More importantly, it's less a thing of China listening in on dear ole granny talking about the family recipe for dumplings, and more one of having a back door to our infrastructure. It'd be awfully easy for them to black out a national grid just prior to an invasion, say.

I can't see them actually wanting to bother to wage a war with any western countries, but it still can put us at a serious strategical disadvantage to not bother to guarantee the security of our infrastructure.

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Originally Posted by aidanjt

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I can't see them actually wanting to bother to wage a war with any western countries, but it still can put us at a serious strategical disadvantage to not bother to guarantee the security of our infrastructure.

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Agreed. It's a security issue, but I also can't see them wanting war. After all, why go to wear with something you already own? They just need to call in their loans.

I think there might be a hint of the "yellow peril" here TBH,which benefits US based companies during a recession.

Of course "if" the Chinese are using backdoors and bugs,then of course the same could be said of any US equipment too!! :p

I think it is far more likely that American hardware would be used for subversive means. After all they are the rulers of the world, aren't they?

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Originally Posted by aidanjt

I can't see them actually wanting to bother to wage a war with any western countries, but it still can put us at a serious strategical disadvantage to not bother to guarantee the security of our infrastructure.

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They may not want to wage a war with any Western countries, but the US is allies with Japan and a couple other countries China has territorial disputes with, including, unofficially, Taiwan (a dispute itself).

The US technically has a legal obligation to defend Taiwan if China was to mount an invasion. But while I think that China still value national pride enough to take control of the island at costs higher than the value of the island (including it's strategic position), I doubt that the US will defend the island at all cost. China's military modernisation does seem aimed at deterring the US from acting (carrier killer, anti-satellite, cyber warfare), rather than wiping out the West.

Besides, I think that a fair amount of Europe is actually sympathetic towards China, and willing to lift the arms embargo. I can't see the UK, which gave back/away Hong Kong to bother with Taiwan unless under huge amount of US pressure.