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FBI, CIA, and NSA: Don't Use Huawei Phones (cnbc.com)
The heads of six top U.S. intelligence agencies told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday they would not advise Americans to use products or services from Chinese smartphone maker Huawei. "The six -- including the heads of the CIA, FBI, NSA and the director of national intelligence -- first expressed their distrust of Apple-rival Huawei and fellow Chinese telecom company ZTE in reference to public servants and state agencies," reports CNBC. From the report: "We're deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that don't share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks," FBI Director Chris Wray testified. "That provides the capacity to exert pressure or control over our telecommunications infrastructure," Wray said. "It provides the capacity to maliciously modify or steal information. And it provides the capacity to conduct undetected espionage."
In a response, Huawei said that it "poses no greater cybersecurity risk than any ICT vendor." A spokesman said in a statement: "Huawei is aware of a range of U.S. government activities seemingly aimed at inhibiting Huawei's business in the U.S. market. Huawei is trusted by governments and customers in 170 countries worldwide and poses no greater cybersecurity risk than any ICT vendor, sharing as we do common global supply chains and production capabilities."
In a response, Huawei said that it "poses no greater cybersecurity risk than any ICT vendor." A spokesman said in a statement: "Huawei is aware of a range of U.S. government activities seemingly aimed at inhibiting Huawei's business in the U.S. market. Huawei is trusted by governments and customers in 170 countries worldwide and poses no greater cybersecurity risk than any ICT vendor, sharing as we do common global supply chains and production capabilities."
Let's take it as a given that Huawei does indeed have spyware/tracking hooks in their phones right down to the hardware level. Let's also take it as a given that the NSA, therefore, doesn't have hooks into those phones. What does that mean for us?
Will Chinese authorities arrest someone in US, UK, or Canada if they find out someone here is doing a Google search for Al Qaeda on a Huawei phone? Unlikely. WIll they turn over GPS tracking of me to law enforcement?
If I take it as a given that someone will be watching everything I do on my phone, I can't think of anyone I would rather have watching than a government that is antagonistic to the NSA.
I know what my next handset will be.