Tag Archives: Huawei

In private briefings, U.S. government raises concerns over Huawei and ZTE

Posted on by

The U.S. government has been quietly warning technology companies about the security risks posed by doing business with Huawei and ZTE, two Chinese telecommunications firms that are closely linked with China’s government. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told CyberScoop Thursday at a national security conference that the government is holding classified briefings to warn private companies of the intelligence concerns. He said the companies that have been briefed are aware of the concerns, but are also “prioritizing market access.” “I think it’s important for us to do what we can to warn people about the threat,” Rubio said. “I think some of those companies are aware of [the intelligence concerns], but they make the decision that they’ll worry about that later. They want access to 1.3 billion people.” The news comes as the Trump administration is trying to persuade lawmakers to drop their opposition to a trade deal that would revive ZTE’s access […]

The post In private briefings, U.S. government raises concerns over Huawei and ZTE appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading In private briefings, U.S. government raises concerns over Huawei and ZTE→

Lawmakers urge Google to end partnership with China’s Huawei

Posted on by

Five U.S. lawmakers urged Google CEO Sundar Pichai to end the company’s partnership with Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant that faces increasingly harsh criticism from Congress on national security grounds. Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., along with Reps. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., sent the public letter on Wednesday. Earlier this month, lawmakers including Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said Google’s Huawei partnerships raises “serious national security concerns.” The bipartisan group urged Google to reconsider their partnership with Huawei due to national security concerns, including investigations into Huawei dating back to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence’s 2012 critical report on the company. “We urge you to reconsider Google’s partnership with Huawei, particularly since your company recently refused to renew a key research partnership, Project Maven, with the Department of Defense,” the letter reads. “While we regret that Google did not want to continue a long […]

The post Lawmakers urge Google to end partnership with China’s Huawei appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Lawmakers urge Google to end partnership with China’s Huawei→

Senate bill hopes to sort out supply-chain cybersecurity risks, prevent next Kaspersky drama

Posted on by

A new bipartisan Senate bill would try to get to the bottom of supply chain risks by setting up a new federal acquisition council that would include representation from the intelligence community and Defense Department. The goal of the bill is to help streamline coordination between agencies so that the government can avoid buying technology that’s bugged by foreign spies. The “Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act” was introduced Tuesday by Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. It tasks agencies across the government with creating a strategy to tackle supply chain threats embedded in federally procured technology systems. If a malicious piece of equipment enters the supply chain of government agencies, experts say it could be used for espionage or more destructive purposes. The announcement comes after a year in which top officials have repeatedly grappled with national security concerns surrounding Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab, an anti-virus software maker that […]

The post Senate bill hopes to sort out supply-chain cybersecurity risks, prevent next Kaspersky drama appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Senate bill hopes to sort out supply-chain cybersecurity risks, prevent next Kaspersky drama→

ZTE ban, tucked inside the NDAA, passes the Senate

Posted on by

The $716 billion National Defense Authorization Act passed the U.S. Senate on Monday, including an amendment that kills a deal the Trump administration made with China that effectively saved telecommunications firm ZTE. The bill still has a long way to go. The House of Representatives’ version, which omits the ZTE Ban, has to be reconciled with the Senate version. Additionally, the White House strongly opposes the measure. Despite the process ahead, the amendment’s backers are taking the NDAA’s passage as a victory. “We’re heartened that both parties made it clear that protecting American jobs and national security must come first when making deals with countries like China, which has a history of having little regard for either,”  Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Tom Cotton, R-Ark, Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. said in a statement. “It is vital that our colleagues in the House keep this bipartisan provision in the bill as […]

The post ZTE ban, tucked inside the NDAA, passes the Senate appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading ZTE ban, tucked inside the NDAA, passes the Senate→

Top U.S. counterintelligence official: Kaspersky’s move to Switzerland doesn’t matter

Posted on by

The ongoing fight between the U.S. government and Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab led the company to begin moving “a good part” of its infrastructure to Switzerland in a highly-visible move toward transparency in the face of spying accusations. The U.S.’s top counterintelligence official, however, says Kaspersky’s move to Switzerland makes no difference to him. William Evanina, the Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, looks at the way the U.S. government handles Kaspersky — which is now banned from the U.S. federal government and is losing ground in the private sector — as “an opportunity to create a model,” he said. “This will not be the last time this happens. I think there will be more to come along, I call them ‘nation-state threats that emanate through the global business process.’ ” Kaspersky’s opening of a “Transparency Center” in Switzerland is significant but leaves open a wide range of questions. The company has […]

The post Top U.S. counterintelligence official: Kaspersky’s move to Switzerland doesn’t matter appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Top U.S. counterintelligence official: Kaspersky’s move to Switzerland doesn’t matter→

Facebook gave user data access to Chinese mobile device makers, too

Posted on by

On Sunday, The New York Times revealed that Facebook has been providing mobile phone and tablet vendors access to user (and users’ friends’) data even though the users did not consent to it and even if they configured their Facebook setting… Continue reading Facebook gave user data access to Chinese mobile device makers, too→

House panel rejects call for cyberthreat report on ZTE amid Trump deal

Posted on by

On the heels of a reported U.S. deal with embattled Chinese telecom company ZTE, American lawmakers rejected a Democratic measure that would have directed the Department of Homeland Security to provide more information on any cybersecurity risks posed by the international tech company. The top Republican and Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee sparred over the utility of the resolution, which would have tasked DHS with providing any documentation it has on cyber risks introduced by the use of ZTE products on federal, state and local government networks. The Republican-led panel voted 16-11 against the measure. Instead, lawmakers will get a classified briefing from officials at DHS, the FBI and the Defense Department on June 13 about the  national security risks posed by ZTE and Huawei, another Chinese technology giant. Texas Republican Michael McCaul, the committee’s chairman, announced the briefing at a committee markup Wednesday on Capitol Hill. U.S. […]

The post House panel rejects call for cyberthreat report on ZTE amid Trump deal appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading House panel rejects call for cyberthreat report on ZTE amid Trump deal→