US Lawmakers Propose $1 Billion Fund To Replace Huawei Equipment (reuters.com) 48
A U.S. House panel unveiled bipartisan legislation this week that would authorize $1 billion for small and rural wireless providers to replace network equipment from companies including Huawei and ZTE that lawmakers say pose a national security risk. From a report: The legislation is similar to a bill approved in July by the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee that would authorize about $700 million in grants to remove Huawei equipment, in a bid to boost the security of the U.S. telecommunication network's supply chain. The top Democrats and Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee said in a joint statement the bill would protect the "nation's communications networks from foreign adversaries by helping small and rural wireless providers root-out suspect network equipment and replace it with more secure equipment."
Yeah. Great idea. (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's reward corporations who didn't give a fuck about security and bought from the cheapest bidder instead of buying from domestic companies by bailing them out again. With taxpayer money to boot.
How about the opposite for a change? Reward those companies that already did the right thing by requiring everyone to replace crappy, insecure junk at their own expense with the hope that they might learn a thing or two this time? Or perish at the cost, either is fine.
Re:Yeah. Great idea. (Score:5, Insightful)
... instead of buying from domestic companies...
You should have stated...
Re:Yeah. Great idea. (Score:5, Insightful)
I will take the NSA over MSS anytime and so would most of China's citizens.
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At least then the government wouldn't want to spend your tax money to give those corporations new gear.
Re:Yeah. Great idea. (Score:5, Informative)
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Funny how when China subsidises companies it's a terrible distortion of the market and blatant cheating, only fixable with more tariffs. When the US does the same it's a necessary security precaution.
The joke is that if they replace it with Cisco crap the security situation will be even worse than it is now, and 5G roll-out will be delayed, and unless the US decides to ignore Chinese patents they will still be paying royalties to Huawei for the technology.
Re:Yeah. Great idea. (Score:4, Insightful)
It is called hypocrisy. And it allows the NSA to continue to spy on its citizens.
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It's called funneling tax money into corporate pockets. That's what this is.
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Once again, you are an idiot. If you think the NSA does anything on the same scale as China, you are a fucking moron.
Because China shares all their spying with domestic law enforcement so they can claim "parallel construction".
The NSA would never do that.
Oh, wait......
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so they can claim "parallel construction".
No no no, they never CLAIM parallel construction.
They just DO parallel construction.
NSA: The red Ford pick-up , Kentucky plates HTR-2322 , headed eastbound on interstate 96 is carrying a shipment of narcotics in the bed , inside the hay bails.
COPS: Do you know why i pulled you over sir? You have a taillight out. Is that marijuana I smell? Sir please step out of the vehicle....
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so they can claim "parallel construction".
Yes, you are correct. My bad phraseology.
Good example though.
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Re: Yeah. Great idea. (Score:2)
Another thing to point out is that there is absolutely no purpose to switch to 5G in rural areas
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You have to know how to read this. "Secure" in this context means "only who we like gets to spy on you".
Hey, that's the best you can ask for in this world, sorry.
So who is this a handout to? (Score:3)
Whose hardware will be used to replace it? And which congressmen did they buy in order to ensure this billion dollar windfall?
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Whose hardware will be used to replace it? And which congressmen did they buy in order to ensure this billion dollar windfall?
(1) That depends entirely upon who donates the most money to the Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign and the various Republican House and Senate races, and (2) pretty much all of them.
Wheress the beef (Score:2)
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What is this based on? Has anybody actually put their finger on what the supposed vulnerability actually is? Captured some offending packets at least?
The vulnerability with Huawei or Cisco?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/k... [forbes.com]
Eh? (Score:2)
Is there any evidence of spyware on this equipment? Conversely, is there any evidence that the replacement equipment does not have spyware?
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Well that's the real point in all this. Get US based spyware in place instead of chinese spyware.
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"I don't wanna get killed by this limey, immigrant JERKOFF. I wanna get killed by an AMERICAN jerkoff."
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It is very likely that Huawei restricted the Chinese backdoors to equipment sold in China. Otherwise we would have been presented with a smoking gun by now. But there is absolutely nothing in the way of evidence, just repeated claims with no supporting evidence.
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Is there any evidence of spyware on this equipment? Conversely, is there any evidence that the replacement equipment does not have spyware?
The answer is "NO".
Dude, the NSA had a way (read backdoor) into CISCO equipment for years [bizjournals.com]. They want to maintain the status quo.
Re:Eh? (Score:5, Informative)
Is there any evidence of spyware on this equipment? Conversely, is there any evidence that the replacement equipment does not have spyware?
Both the EU and several European intelligence services went looking and so far nobody has found any spyware on Huawei network equipment. It is safe to assume than neither did the US security services since if they had found spyware in Huawei equipment Trump would have been tweeting about it in the middle of the intelligence briefing and his proxies would still be shouting it off the rooftops. Spyware has, however, been found to have been surreptitiously installed by the NSA on US made equipment:
https://arstechnica.com/tech-p... [arstechnica.com]
https://www.engadget.com/2014/... [engadget.com]
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Spyware has, however, been found to have been surreptitiously installed by the NSA on US made equipment: >
Well the NSA intercepted shipping though the US postal service and planted the spyware. The equipment was not manufatured with the spyware installed and the vendors at the time were clueless to what the NSA was doing. Just to add some context
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Spyware has, however, been found to have been surreptitiously installed by the NSA on US made equipment: >
Well the NSA intercepted shipping though the US postal service and planted the spyware. The equipment was not manufatured with the spyware installed and the vendors at the time were clueless to what the NSA was doing. Just to add some context
So if I'm a prime minister somewhere and the US embassador shows up on my doorstep and demands my country stop using Huawei equipment and buy (more expensive) US stuff (that comes with pre-installed NSA bugging technology) instead, what exactly is my motivation to acquiesces to his request? Why should I give in and buy backdoor laden American equipment? ... to avoid a trade war? ... Economic sanctions? Blackmail like this used to be anathema to US trade and foreign policy, now it is the norm.
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Nope and nope. And that is likely the problem: I expect Huawei refused to put in the NSA-backdoors. The replacement equipment will have those NSA backdoors.
..that lawmakers say pose a national security risk (Score:2)
I still can't get over how many people just accepted there's actually a security risk just because some anti-Chinese politicians kept repeating the line.
What I'm not surprised about is how someone will financially benefit from this, and from taxpayer cash, yay. Not surprised at all.
While we're at it, let's keep removing every Chinese-manufactured electronic equipment, device, chip and processor. Before you dispose of my popcorn maker please let me make
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There is a risk, all right. Meaning the money isn't going to line the pockets of campaign donors.
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I still can't get over how many people just accepted there's actually a security risk just because some anti-Chinese politicians kept repeating the line.
"What I tell you three times is the truth." Unfortunately, this is pretty much the amount of fact-checking that average people are capable of. Tell them the most obvious lies often enough and they not only believe them, they will feel good about having understood a deep truth. And then they will demand violence against anybody that thinks differently.
So the NSA can get in easier! (Score:2)
Obviously this whole thing is about Huawei having made one fatal mistake: They have not opened the backdoors the NSA wants. Hence they had to go. In the mind of the deranged authoritarians behind this. anything they cannot look into is a "national security risk". Expect cameras in bedrooms and bathrooms within the decade. Microphones are already being established with mobile devices and voice "assistants".
US spooks cannot bug Huawei (Score:1)
This is (partly) another trade fight (Score:2)
Which while technically this is a National Security argument, the same words can be applied to ANY Foreign Country the US of A chooses to not (or no longer) be friends with.
But Seriously, WHY is this even an issue NOW (rather than any time in the previous several decades), because NONE of this is SUDDENLY