Ignore all the stuff about backdoors and such for a minute. I wonder if the administration fears that Huawai could simply attenuate their cell tower signals at a high wattage to disrupt all sorts of things.
I never thought of that before - "5G as a weapon".
Definitely a weird world. I need to start reading Judge Dredd again to start getting caught up on the future.
- Infected microchips from Chinese suppliers used to target and destroy the US Pacific fleet.
- Disabling GPS with anti-satellite missiles.
- Cyber attacks to disrupt the DOD communications networks.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Fleet_(novel)
[2]: https://morningconsult.com/2015/09/08/the-defense-wonks-who-...
> Infected microchips from Chinese suppliers used to target and destroy the US Pacific fleet.
Awesome, the ideas that are often posted here have somehow made their way into fiction.
> Disabling GPS with anti-satellite missiles.
Just GPS? I'd expect surveillance and communications satellites to be much higher priority targets.
Personally I don't think that risk is worth avoiding Huawei over. But then I'd be happy to maintain the top level of infrastructure we already have in the UK and work on bringing breadth to the networks using 3G&4G and taking an upgrade-hiatus. I'm not convinced the average person will get much from 5G except more infringement of civil liberties ...?
That said, I agree with you about Huawei and non-5G. We shouldn't be talking about banning them on 5G, we should be talking about banning them (and anyone outside of the western alliance, really) from selling gear in our countries period. National security takes precedent. China doesn't even let reporters from the NYT in their country ffs.
But whatever. Politicians are reactive and don't understand cybersecurity and the few that do don't have the sway or incentives to really push for this. Though I will say one thing, in a cyberwar we'd brick China just as badly as they would brick us, so at least we have MAD working for us.
We know the NSA intercepts shipments and tampers with network equipment, on top of everything else they do. We also know a foreign agent (with considerable Chinese debt who was elected with the help of Russian intelligence) is now in the White House.
I know it’s fashionable to shit on China (China China China), but it’s not like they’re doing something new and unique. How can you count on the US, or any other country, to be a reliable partner?
The POTUS is openly inviting Russian interference in US affairs ffs.
That's up to them and their own risk assessment. One thing I know for sure is that if they did, the US would wage an economic war so fiercely on Europe, that Nokia & Ericsson would have a tough time doing anything in the US for years to come.
Further, collateral damage would include all sorts of manufacturing, which would cripple Germany.
Remember the imbalance here: European manufacturing is more dependent upon the US than the US is on Europe. Fully 50% of Germany's GDP is exports, and worse, Germany exported $118bn of goods, while the US exported only $50 to Germany.[1] While that doesn't seem a big difference, once you look at it as a share of each other's economies, it is immense (roughly 3% of German GDP, versus only 0.5% of US GDP).
[1] - https://www.americanexpress.com/us/foreign-exchange/articles...
I'm not saying that I believe that any more than the media narrative, or have any insight into unseen forces at play, but there is also reason for skepticism. Noam Chomsky as one example has said he thinks the hubbub about Russian interference is a farce. Disinformation and influence operations are real and powerful tools.
They aren't worried about the US, because the US isn't expansionist and generally only applies muscular diplomacy to nations that are small and poor. China has used military force to expand much more recently than the US, making it much more of a concern.
The US has military basis everywhere.
> only applies muscular diplomacy to nations that are small and poor
Is China small and poor?
> China has used military force to expand much more recently than the US.
The US is fighting 2 wars that will last 20 years, and is looking anxious to start a new one...