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Report Says China Will Demand Source Code

Posted by kdawson on from the said-the-spider-to-the-fly dept.

An anonymous reader alerts us to a two-week-old story that hasn't gotten much traction in the press to date. A Japanese newspaper and the AP report that China plans to demand source code from hardware manufacturers, and ban the sale of products from companies that don't comply. China is calling this an "obligatory accreditation system for IT security products." The plan is to go into effect next May, according to sources. "Products expected to be subject to the system are those equipped with secret coding, such as [a] contactless smart card system developed by Sony Corp., digital copiers, and computer servers. The Chinese government said it needs the source code to prevent computer viruses taking advantage of software vulnerabilities and to shut out hackers. However, this explanation is unlikely to satisfy concerns that disclosed information might be handed from the Chinese government to Chinese companies. There also are fears that Chinese intelligence services could exploit such confidential information by making it easier to break codes used in... digital devices."

8 of 305 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Open Source or Else by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't worry about the voting software, the Chinese government will check the results for you and they'll tell you who has won.

  2. Re:So they can counterfeit by uberjack · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hey, a Sorny would complement my Panaphonics and Magnetbox quite nicely

  3. Re:Makes you wonder by RDW · · Score: 3, Funny

    'Sources close to the Chinese government were quick to stress that the timing of this announcement and the recent surprise appointment of US software developer Richard M Stallman as Governer of Sichuan Province are entirely coincidental'.

  4. Re:Open Source or Else by Hognoxious · · Score: 2, Funny

    the Chinese government has checked the results for you and they'll tell you who is going to win.

    Fixed that for you.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  5. Re:I'm not so sure by Hognoxious · · Score: 3, Funny

    Would you see it differently if they had said that every pharmaceutical product should have it's formula disclosed and be tested by the chinese government before being released for sale in their country?

    That's a perfectly sensible thing for them to do. How else would they check it has sufficient toxic additives?

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  6. Re:So they can counterfeit by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 4, Funny

    But Sony is as American as apple pie.

  7. Re:So they can counterfeit by cayenne8 · · Score: 3, Funny
    "But as it stands, the west is still fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan for control of petroleum..."

    Afghanistan has oil???

    I thought they only were good for terrorists and drugs?

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  8. Re:So they can counterfeit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    That being said, one CANNOT overlook WHO is asking for the closed source, and determining the REAL reason WHY they need it. Somehow the words "safety" and "trust" do NOT come to mind.

    Is William Shatner posting on Slashdot now?