Hueawei - China Telecom Giant in US Sights

TECHway

Huawei Is Ready for Friday  Sounds like WowWay

Chinese tech firm Huawei's CFO, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Canada this week, where she's facing extradition to the U.S. The charge against her? Violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.

You know Huawei—it's only the world's largest telecom equipment manufacturer. But it's also had a target on its back from U.S. authorities for allegedly sending products made in the U.S. to Iran and other countries, which goes against U.S. export and sanction laws.

As for Wanzhou? She's the daughter of Huawei's founder and sits as one of the vice chairs on the company's board. For its part, Huawei says it doesn't know of any wrongdoing.

Zoom out: This is Washington's latest crackdown on Huawei, which it has come to view as a national security threat. U.S. authorities have moved to restrict Huawei's business on American soil, and they recently asked allies to do the same on their own turf.


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Mon Dec 10 TECH Why the U.S. Considers Huawei Such a Threat

Did you find yourself in this situation over the weekend? You: "Pretty crazy that Huawei's CFO was arrested." Friend: "Wild. I know the company is accused of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. But why is the U.S. so worried about Huawei, again?" *Dodges 25 Santas running down 2nd Ave.* You: "National security concerns." Friend: "Cool. Like what?" You: "Uhhhhhhhh......" Here to help is the MIT Technology Review, which has laid out six reasons why Huawei, a huge Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer, keeps intelligence officials up at night: Kill switches: Huawei builds networks carrying data for power grids, financial markets, etc. And some fear the Chinese government could sneak "back doors" into Huawei's gear with the ability to weaken or disable networks in foreign countries if a crisis occurred. Detecting those "back doors" is far from a science: Even after inspections, British intelligence had "only limited assurance" that Huawei gear wasn't a security threat. Data snooping: Chinese spies could theoretically gain access to Huawei's networks undetected to extract sensitive info from people and businesses. Another possible avenue for espionage? Smartphones—Huawei's one of the top manufacturers in the world. The 5G rollout: The next generation of wireless networks is arriving fast...and the last thing the U.S. wants is for Huawei to connect the world with 5G. As the authors note, "This will dramatically expand the number of connected devices—and the chaos that can be caused if the networks supporting them are hacked." Defying U.S. trade rules: Huawei's CFO is accused of tricking American banks into doing business with Iran, which would be a violation of U.S. sanctions. More of that activity could happen. Chinese government influence: The U.S. and allies suspect Huawei's execs are cozy with the Chinese government, which is the reason they've taken such a hard stance. But then again, there's no concrete evidence of any "back doors" in its equipment, either. The latest in the drama: Chinese authorities have "summoned" the U.S. Ambassador to China to protest the arrest.