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Comment by flipped | Hacker News Reader

Third world countries lack the resources to secure their ICS and SCADA. Corrupted US govt doesn't even need NSA's capabilities for this.

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Not sure if that’s the right way to divide the world.

Actually, poor countries can leverage cyber to pose a much bigger threat than they could traditionally.

Or in other words: Cyber can be used for asymmetric warfare. In relative terms, poor countries cause a lot more damage than rich ones.

This. Also do not underestimate developing countries internal security budgets. Most middle income countries can now afford DACH sized cybersecurity procurement deals.

There's also great potential to build misattribution in. Just pause between combining the attacks from the Internet and renaming variables to watch a Dolph Lundgren movie.

I think you missed the parents point. They were saying they don't have the resources for proper defense, my guess is parent would agree about their offensive capabilities

China should help them.

Beijing tells Chinese firms to stop using US and Israeli cybersecurity software - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46618949 - January 2026

It's a performative announcement - most American and Israeli cybersecurity vendors either don't sell in China or white label a Chinese product for the Chinese market.

I know 2 companies in that list that have done that very thing because otherwise it would have put their FedRAMP and CMMC pipelines at risk.

I worked at a place that faced exactly that.

I initially was in the Huawei client engagement where they wanted copies of all of our source code. We said “no, nobody gets that”. They just keep asking over and over.

On one hand, that seems like a sure way to get your product copied. On the other, they’d be totally nuts to run a cybersecurity product without the source code, right?

Seems like a situation where getting the interests to align is just very difficult.

No other customers demanded source code.

Even with white labeled products so they stay legally compliant, is it really justifiable to increase the risk? They're having people flying in and out for "sales meetings", shared office spaces, devices, maybe even staff overlap.

I understand it's a good way to make money but it comes with some tail risk.

Basically, a Chinese MSSP or SI is selected and given the American/Israeli company's logo and makes a revenue share agreement, and an airgapped environment using a distinct fork is deployed.

That said, most companies decide not to operate in the Chinese market - the TAM is too small for the headaches that it entails (losing Gov and NATO+ defense procurement opportunities).

Makes sense, thanks for elaborating. Just the logistics of it sound like a lot of overhead.

Usually it's included as a sweetener for a contract (generally LVM...(cough cough)...EMEA).

unlike rich countries, which only lack the will and care to secure their ICS and SCADA /s

Or the US in particular that applies a lot of resources into willfully keeping every ICS and SCADA out there insecure, including their own.

> Corrupted US govt

and Venezuela govt is not corrupt?

Every govt is. But whoever has most power is most corrupted.

You're using "false equivalence" bias. Not every government is bad, especially if you still have russia, iran, and others as ongoing contenders for worst crimes against humanity.

So saying "every government is bad" is simply a bad faith argument and you should shamefully sink towards the planet core for using it. Andorra is not as bad as russia or iran.

Just yesterday there was a video where russian soldiers tie an anti tank mine around the torso of a black African mercenary soldier from Mali before forcing him on a suicide meat assault towards Ukrainian positions. Some countries are evil on another level.

Every govt's main agenda is to control and strip away any rights of the citizens. Directly or indirectly, that's their main motive. It will keep getting worse until people realize that anarchism will be the only choice.

"Murder is bad!"

"So rape isn't?!"

Come on.

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