IN-DEPTH / IN-DEPTH
Internet experts reveal true intention behind US’ crackdown on Huawei
Pursuing surveillance dominance
Editor's Note:
What is behind the US government's crackdown on Huawei? In its bid to stifle the company, it has used questionable measures, including its national power to slander it. Recent US moves have sparked questions as to why it fears the Chinese company so much. Why does the US feel so threatened by the company?
Some believe that if everyone uses Huawei, the US will be severely curtailed in its ability to monitor the world.
Three network experts shared their opinions.
The US National Security Agency's (NSA) "Echelon" surveillance system, which monitors 90 percent of the world's communications, remains active, according to reports from intercept.com.
At the beginning of the 21st Century, US intelligence agencies reportedly developed surveillance technology to monitor different products of the world's main communication companies.
Americans have two effective approaches for monitoring communications. One is the introduction of laws to justify their eavesdropping on domestic and foreign communications. The other is to build a very powerful monitoring system and network, and constantly improve their ability to listen.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was signed by US President Jimmy Carter on October 25, 1978. In 2008, the US added Section 702, which specifically "allows the government to obtain the communications of foreigners outside the United States, including foreign terrorist threats," as laid out in the House Intelligence Committee FAQ sheet, according to Jessica Schneider of CNN. Section 702 of FISA sparked widespread controversy as this provision empowers US intelligence agencies to conduct secret surveillance of foreigners outside the US, collecting communications, emails and text messages without a court's permission.
US politicians say it is a "very important mandate" that allows US intelligence agencies to intercept "foreign terrorist threats." However, there is no specification of how many foreign terrorist threats have occurred, as the clause was blocked in the past.
Meanwhile, the scandal of US surveillance abuses has continued unabated in recent years. Edward Joseph Snowden revealed that the NSA monitored phone calls of 35 foreign leaders and used technology to track and intercept mobile phone information around the world, collecting up to 5 billion pieces of information a day, the Washington Post reported. The Economist reported that in the early 1990s, the NSA intercepted communications between European aerospace company Airbus and a Saudi Arabian national airline.
In 1994, Airbus lost a $6 billion contract with Saudi Arabia after the NSA, acting as a whistleblower, reported that Airbus officials had been bribing Saudi officials to secure the deal. As a result, American aerospace company McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing) won the multibillion-dollar contract instead of Airbus.
The NSA used its "Echelon" surveillance system to monitor conversations between Airbus and Saudi negotiators. The European parliament set up a special committee to investigate this case in 2001.
According to an American media report, the NSA "Echelon" surveillance system acts as the main monitoring tool of the Five Eyes, the anglophone intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The system monitors 90 percent of communications all over the world.
The US surveillance network was founded in 1966, and is divided into two sub-programs: a communication satellite launched specifically for the former Soviet Union, and the "Echelon" surveillance system, whose main objective is to monitor the electronic signals of Western powers.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the US expanded its surveillance.
In March 2017, nearly 9,000 documents related to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hacking tools were exposed. The documents showed that the CIA has a strong ability to secretly access mobile phones, computers, smart TVs and many other smart devices. It was the biggest surveillance scandal in American history.
The US argues that it has the best companies and technology, but because its competitors play dirty, they have to use this method to protect their interests.
The collaboration between US intelligence agencies and companies is a delicate one. Few companies would dare to admit that they have cooperated with these agencies as they are in fear of damaging their reputations and need to be accepted by the market. However, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) helped the NSA monitor and collect information of netizens and even monitored the phones of the United Nations headquarters, the New York Times reported in August 2015.
If telecom service providers and related equipment in different countries all change to use the products of Chinese companies, it will influence the monitoring ability of the US.
Although how much this influence will be is still unclear, the Americans want to nip it in the bud.
It is actually unfair economic competition using the excuse of national security, just like the American crackdown on Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation before.
The goal is to cut off the financial and technological assistance to the leading Chinese enterprises in the industry, deny them access to Western high-end markets and then discredit Chinese corporate champions. This approach could strike any transnational marketing enterprises.
An expert on the communication network industry who prefers to be called 'Om'
I have been paying attention to communications security for more than 20 years. It has always been said that some countries use leading technologies to eavesdrop on other countries. When Snowden exposed it, people began to realize that the US had always been doing this.
The international security standard that was set by the US and the NSA is probably behind this. It's not only China, but also US allies, including Japan and Canada, that do not trust the US, since they know that they could also be under surveillance.
The US also uses clever ways of eavesdropping on other countries. Security experts from Germany pointed out during an international meeting that the US intentionally brings weakness when setting standards on cryptographic algorithms. By interfering with the establishment of the international standards on network security, the NSA is working for its own country's benefits.
In the field of networking protocol development, the US is the only superpower that leads the creation of international standards. The UK, France, Germany, Japan and China belong to the second group. Among these countries, China is the only one to have the capability to develop and compete with the US on networking protocol.
Some Chinese experts called for the revision of some security standards on network protocol years ago, which annoyed the US. But it had to cooperate under international pressure.
This is the background of the US cracking down on Huawei.
China has annoyed the US for two reasons, by challenging it on setting the technology standard and competing with the US on the leadership of information technology. 5G is one aspect of information technology that shows China is catching up with the US in this field.
Led by Huawei, China's 5G technologies have surpassed Europe for more than a year, and European countries have had to adopt Huawei's technology. However, the US is stirring public opinion in the media on so-called security concerns, but experts, politicians and elites in Europe are well aware that these are political biases.
An anonymous internet expert
The core of the US surveillance system was network infrastructure technology, including submarine cables that were mastered by US companies. It enables the US to copy the information they want and extend surveillance globally.
Why does the US call the information sharing allies agency the Five Eyes? It is actually a platform to monitor the whole world. The PRISM plan exposed by Snowden revealed the vicious side of the US as it spies on the whole world with a backbone network and termination equipment. Cellphones are one form of this termination equipment. The IOS system used by iPhones is closed while the Andriod system is open for revising.
I always oppose civil servants using iPhones since all the data is stored on the phones and sensitive information can be analyzed. However, if cellphones made by Huawei occupy the majority of the market, the previous methods of collecting information will not be easy. And the cost for collecting data would be huge.
What is behind the US government's crackdown on Huawei? In its bid to stifle the company, it has used questionable measures, including its national power to slander it. Recent US moves have sparked questions as to why it fears the Chinese company so much. Why does the US feel so threatened by the company?
Some believe that if everyone uses Huawei, the US will be severely curtailed in its ability to monitor the world.
Three network experts shared their opinions.
Former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor and whistle-blower Edward Snowden speaks via video link from Russia as he takes part in a round table meeting on the subject of "Improving the protection of whistle-blowers" on March 15, 2019, at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. Photo: VCG
Shen Yi, deputy director of the cyberspace management center at Fudan UniversityThe US National Security Agency's (NSA) "Echelon" surveillance system, which monitors 90 percent of the world's communications, remains active, according to reports from intercept.com.
At the beginning of the 21st Century, US intelligence agencies reportedly developed surveillance technology to monitor different products of the world's main communication companies.
Americans have two effective approaches for monitoring communications. One is the introduction of laws to justify their eavesdropping on domestic and foreign communications. The other is to build a very powerful monitoring system and network, and constantly improve their ability to listen.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was signed by US President Jimmy Carter on October 25, 1978. In 2008, the US added Section 702, which specifically "allows the government to obtain the communications of foreigners outside the United States, including foreign terrorist threats," as laid out in the House Intelligence Committee FAQ sheet, according to Jessica Schneider of CNN. Section 702 of FISA sparked widespread controversy as this provision empowers US intelligence agencies to conduct secret surveillance of foreigners outside the US, collecting communications, emails and text messages without a court's permission.
US politicians say it is a "very important mandate" that allows US intelligence agencies to intercept "foreign terrorist threats." However, there is no specification of how many foreign terrorist threats have occurred, as the clause was blocked in the past.
Meanwhile, the scandal of US surveillance abuses has continued unabated in recent years. Edward Joseph Snowden revealed that the NSA monitored phone calls of 35 foreign leaders and used technology to track and intercept mobile phone information around the world, collecting up to 5 billion pieces of information a day, the Washington Post reported. The Economist reported that in the early 1990s, the NSA intercepted communications between European aerospace company Airbus and a Saudi Arabian national airline.
In 1994, Airbus lost a $6 billion contract with Saudi Arabia after the NSA, acting as a whistleblower, reported that Airbus officials had been bribing Saudi officials to secure the deal. As a result, American aerospace company McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing) won the multibillion-dollar contract instead of Airbus.
The NSA used its "Echelon" surveillance system to monitor conversations between Airbus and Saudi negotiators. The European parliament set up a special committee to investigate this case in 2001.
According to an American media report, the NSA "Echelon" surveillance system acts as the main monitoring tool of the Five Eyes, the anglophone intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The system monitors 90 percent of communications all over the world.
The US surveillance network was founded in 1966, and is divided into two sub-programs: a communication satellite launched specifically for the former Soviet Union, and the "Echelon" surveillance system, whose main objective is to monitor the electronic signals of Western powers.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the US expanded its surveillance.
In March 2017, nearly 9,000 documents related to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hacking tools were exposed. The documents showed that the CIA has a strong ability to secretly access mobile phones, computers, smart TVs and many other smart devices. It was the biggest surveillance scandal in American history.
The US argues that it has the best companies and technology, but because its competitors play dirty, they have to use this method to protect their interests.
The collaboration between US intelligence agencies and companies is a delicate one. Few companies would dare to admit that they have cooperated with these agencies as they are in fear of damaging their reputations and need to be accepted by the market. However, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) helped the NSA monitor and collect information of netizens and even monitored the phones of the United Nations headquarters, the New York Times reported in August 2015.
If telecom service providers and related equipment in different countries all change to use the products of Chinese companies, it will influence the monitoring ability of the US.
Although how much this influence will be is still unclear, the Americans want to nip it in the bud.
It is actually unfair economic competition using the excuse of national security, just like the American crackdown on Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation before.
The goal is to cut off the financial and technological assistance to the leading Chinese enterprises in the industry, deny them access to Western high-end markets and then discredit Chinese corporate champions. This approach could strike any transnational marketing enterprises.
An expert on the communication network industry who prefers to be called 'Om'
I have been paying attention to communications security for more than 20 years. It has always been said that some countries use leading technologies to eavesdrop on other countries. When Snowden exposed it, people began to realize that the US had always been doing this.
The international security standard that was set by the US and the NSA is probably behind this. It's not only China, but also US allies, including Japan and Canada, that do not trust the US, since they know that they could also be under surveillance.
The US also uses clever ways of eavesdropping on other countries. Security experts from Germany pointed out during an international meeting that the US intentionally brings weakness when setting standards on cryptographic algorithms. By interfering with the establishment of the international standards on network security, the NSA is working for its own country's benefits.
In the field of networking protocol development, the US is the only superpower that leads the creation of international standards. The UK, France, Germany, Japan and China belong to the second group. Among these countries, China is the only one to have the capability to develop and compete with the US on networking protocol.
Some Chinese experts called for the revision of some security standards on network protocol years ago, which annoyed the US. But it had to cooperate under international pressure.
This is the background of the US cracking down on Huawei.
China has annoyed the US for two reasons, by challenging it on setting the technology standard and competing with the US on the leadership of information technology. 5G is one aspect of information technology that shows China is catching up with the US in this field.
Led by Huawei, China's 5G technologies have surpassed Europe for more than a year, and European countries have had to adopt Huawei's technology. However, the US is stirring public opinion in the media on so-called security concerns, but experts, politicians and elites in Europe are well aware that these are political biases.
An anonymous internet expert
The core of the US surveillance system was network infrastructure technology, including submarine cables that were mastered by US companies. It enables the US to copy the information they want and extend surveillance globally.
Why does the US call the information sharing allies agency the Five Eyes? It is actually a platform to monitor the whole world. The PRISM plan exposed by Snowden revealed the vicious side of the US as it spies on the whole world with a backbone network and termination equipment. Cellphones are one form of this termination equipment. The IOS system used by iPhones is closed while the Andriod system is open for revising.
I always oppose civil servants using iPhones since all the data is stored on the phones and sensitive information can be analyzed. However, if cellphones made by Huawei occupy the majority of the market, the previous methods of collecting information will not be easy. And the cost for collecting data would be huge.
