Intelligence Leaders Warn Businesses: Hang Up on Chinese Telecoms
Leaders of the House Intelligence Committee have arrived at the conclusion that doing business with two Chinese telecom giants is far too risky to national security and advised U.S. companies to find other vendors.
In addition, Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and Ranking Member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) recommended that U.S. government systems keep out any parts made by Huawei or ZTE.
“Many people asked why — why this report, why these two companies, and why did we initiate the investigation,” Rogers said at a Capitol Hill press conference today unveiling the 60-page report. “And it started over a year ago when we started looking at the new threat that has been prolific in the last few years from the Chinese government when it comes to cyber espionage, human espionage, and something really unprecedented in history that a nation-state investing billions of dollars in its military and intelligence services to target specifically intellectual property of American businesses, western businesses, Asian businesses, taking that information back, and repurposing it to artificially compete in a world market.”
Huawei is the second-largest supplier of mobile telecommunications infrastructure equipment in the world; corporate partners include Motorola, T-Mobile, and Cox Communications with items such as modems and cable boxes. It also owns 51 percent stake in a joint venture with Symantec, and bid for a Sprint contract in 2010.
ZTE Corporation, founded as a state-owned enterprise with ties to China’s aerospace ministry, is the world’s fourth-largest manufacturer of mobile phones. Its Score mobile phone can easily be accessed remotely, sparking concern about handset security. In 2010, the company sold Iran’s state-owned telecommunications company equipment for spying on phone and online communications.
In March, the Australian government, on advice of its national security service, decided to keep Huawei out of the bidding process to work on its national broadband network. The United Kingdom felt the need to come up with a third-party validation system in an attempt to mitigate the risks posed to personal information and government data.
The companies have been trying to dig a deeper foothold in the U.S., expanding operations and getting “into the infrastructure backbone of the United States.”
“The amount of data and allegations that we processed has been shocking,” Rogers said. “…The investigation concluded that the risks associated with these companies’ providing equipment and services to U.S. critical infrastructure undermines the core U.S. national security interest.”
The chairman’s message to the private sector? “The investigation concluded that the risks associated with these companies’ providing equipment and services to U.S. critical infrastructure undermines the core U.S. national security interest.”
“Numerous” Huawei employees came forward to the committee investigators and revealed “several potential criminal violations” by company officials that will be referred to the executive branch for investigation, including allegations of immigration violations, bribery and corruption, and copyright infringement.
“Neither company credibly answered how it would operate free of Chinese national interests. They could not deny their historic and current ties to the Chinese state. They could not deny the pervasive influence of China’s national interest in affairs of purportedly private sector firms,” Rogers said.
“Huawei and ZTE are Chinese companies headquartered in China, a communist country where they must follow Chinese laws,” Ruppersberger said. “We already know the Chinese are aggressively hacking into our nation’s networks, threatening our critical infrastructure, and stealing millions of dollars worth of trade secrets and other sensitive information from American companies.”
The Maryland Dem noted that the investigation went to China to meet officials face to face and probe the companies on their home turf.
“I had conversations, as I said, when I went to China. My comment basically was: You want to do business in the United States, you tell your Chinese government to stop hacking our companies in the United States of America,” Ruppersberger said. “That’s what needs to be done.”
Both companies reacted angrily to the report.
“We had hoped to ensure that the investigation would be fact-based and objective in its review of our business activities and the global issue of cyber-security,” Huawei said in a statement. “…However, despite our best effort, the Committee appears to have been committed to a predetermined outcome.”
“The report released by the Committee today employs many rumors and speculations to prove non-existent accusations. …We have to suspect that the only purpose of such a report is to impede competition and obstruct Chinese ICT companies from entering the US market.”
Excellent reportage on a vitally important issue. Expect this investigation to go exactly nowhere if Obama is re-elected (re-elected with the support of illegal Chinese funding).
IF there is a real investigation, and IF The Radical-in-Chief, and his Thugggish AG are removed from office, many secrets will be bared.IF not, the espionage will continue.
Of course, the shock here is that there is NO shock. The POTUS is as knee deep in RED as he is in GREEN. However, he is bereft of RED/WHITE & BLUE.
Does anyone wonder why so many of his advisers (recall, Anita Dunn & her devotion to Mao, Hill too adores the REDS, as does Van Jones etc)are commie fans. And, Leo Panetta has deep connections to communists, going back many years! Yes, he does.
http://adinakutnicki.com/2012/10/05/if-it-looks-like-a-socialistmarxistcommunist-plan-it-is-peekingpeeling-back-into-obamas-looking-glass-his-surrogates-too-their-bomblets-waiting-to-explode-commentary-by-adina-kutnicki/
and the big kahuna, Valerie the Commie (Iranian born)Jarrett -http://adinakutnicki.com/2012/09/28/valerie-jarrett-barack-hussein-obamas-communisthidden-hand-familial-ideological-ties-that-bind-addendum-to-valerie-jarretts-communist-leanings-why-she-matters-commentary-by-adina/
So, while patriotic Americans will surely take heed, the leadership – not so much!
To wit, the Islamic foxes, and their communists helpmates, could not have entered the American hen house without the help of inside forces. Of course, this didn’t start under the rein of the Revolutionary-in-Chief, but it caught fire under him.
The anti-American chickens are coming home to roost.
Shocking – not!
The US has been so powerful for so long, both economically and militarily,
that it is shocked when another sovereign nation pursues its own best
interests in ways that are in violation of laws passed_by_the_US
to further US interests.
Yes, I know that China signed on to those laws. I also know that it signed
under duress; It was an offer the China could not refuse if it wished
to become an industrialized nation.
This is a good thing; From now on, the US will have to _earn_ its economic
successes, rather than legislate them. It will also have to establish
an independent TeleComm capability, at least for secure networks, and
rely on trade secrecy rather than IP laws to protect new technology.
“Yes, I know that China signed on to those laws. I also know that it signed
under duress; It was an offer the China could not refuse if it wished
to become an industrialized nation.”
By your line of reasoning, or lack thereof, all teams in the NFL, or any other league, have a moral and legal right to play by their own rules. Same goes for the Olympics, with each nation’s team playing by it’s own rules. I suggest you look up the definitions of “ethics” and “integrity.” You might find yourself to be a happier person, with the beginning of an idea of who you are.
America has done business on an honor system ever since American business began. Try looking up “honor” while at it. Have their been crooks? Yes, of course, but that is no reason to discount all of the honest businesses which have made and do make America great. If you can’t believe that, you reveal more about yourself than American business.
The report is really interesting, well-written and has not even a hint of partisanship.
You can read it here:
http://intelligence.house.gov/sites/intelligence.house.gov/files/documents/Huawei-ZTE%20Investigative%20Report%20(FINAL).pdf
I found it well worth my time. It definitely scares you out of cheap lousy cellphones
.
D
My first thought when I heard of this was of a million man hour programming effort, done in secret, to insert a few innocuous lines in a million line program, which would make Stuxnet look like an undergraduate programming exercise.
Why is the House having to do the executive branch’s job.
No need to answer.
@4:Ernie G
Its been done; During a Congressional hearing on the Microsoft monopoly
OS, Windows, A Congress-critter suggested making the source code public
and the MS witness replied: That would be bad for national security. >:)
I knew it.
Everyone with an iPhone is a traitor and a spy.
Why you so concern this? No lisk! Chinese very goo com pu ten wok foh vewy li tul dora
Reality Check: Is This The End of The Petro-dollar?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9VLp0FcJ6I&feature=plcp
NSA wants to hire hackers By Stacy Cowley @CNNMoneyTech July 29, 2012
http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/27/technology/defcon-nsa/index.htm
This is the same government that wants to take over the internet. Interesting!
I’m an engineer in telecom. I’ve worked in China. I’ve seen what they can do with software.
They scare me.
They should scare every American.
No way should we have even one single piece of equipment in our phone network that is produced by the Chinese mainland.