US intelligence agencies oppose the use of Huawei and ZTE devices by Americans

The leaders of the six largest US intelligence agencies, speaking at Senate hearings, spoke out strongly against US citizens using Huawei and ZTE phones and tablets. Representatives of the CIA, the FBI, the NSA, and other special government organizations argue that the development of Chinese companies expose both American companies and citizens to unnecessary risks.

"We are deeply concerned about the risks that arise when Americans use the devices and services created in a country whose government does not share our values," said FBI Chief Chris Wray. In his opinion, all this allows foreigners to establish control, or at least attempt to control US telecommunications networks. Among other things, Ray argued that the use of Chinese equipment and services carries risks such as the introduction of malware into American networks, plus there is a danger of data theft as a result of hidden espionage.

Among other risks, the heads of special services call espionage - both industrial, and political, private. At the same time, representatives of the Chinese company Huawei said that its devices are not a greater threat to cybersecurity than devices of any other technology company.
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A spokesman for Huawei said the following: “Huawei is aware of the actions taken by the US government regarding the company's business in the US market. Huawei is trusted by governments and users in 170 countries around the world, the company is no more cyber threat than any other telecommunications equipment manufacturer. ”

By the way, it cannot be said that Huawei’s share in the American market was so great. The company has repeatedly tried to enter the United States, once it even succeeded when the Chinese agreed to cooperate with AT & T. But then the cooperation agreement was withdrawn by the Americans. Nevertheless, the company is still present in the US market - its phones and other devices are sold here.

By the way, just a month ago, the head of Huawei, Richard Yu, spoke out sharply against the fact that American telecom operators do not give their users the freedom of choice. Interestingly, it was US officials who forced AT & T to withdraw the transaction, as far as can be understood, it was done not on the goodwill of the American company.

A similar statement was made by representatives of the security services and in respect of another Chinese company - ZTE. Representatives of the latter spoke more restrained, saying that “they take cybersecurity threats with all seriousness,” while remaining, at the same time, a reliable and trusted partner for all US users.

“As a public company, we declare that we are following the letter and spirit of American law, and the requirements of the regulator. We work with telecom operators, the company's standards correspond to the highest business standards, ”the company said.

At the same time, representatives of the special services at the congressional hearings said that the threats and risks in terms of using China’s telecommunication systems and services will only grow with time. Therefore, it was proposed to completely abandon the device Huawei and ZTE. As far as can be understood, no other companies were mentioned at the hearings.

On the part of the US authorities, this is not the first attempt to counteract Chinese technological expansion. In August last year, the US military banned the use of DJI unmanned aerial vehicles. According to the leadership of the American army, DJI drones collect too much information about everything during the flight. This applies to coordinates, audio and video. The ban followed despite: the statement of the company itself : “DJI cannot, and we believe that it should not be able to connect to your live feed given on the memory card or phone that is connected to the drone. And since we do not have access to this data, we cannot transfer them to anyone else. ”

The problem, in fact, was that the manufacturer of drones installed specialized software in their devices, which determines the location of the system, referring to the coordinates of the regions prohibited for flights. Unmanned areas include such objects as airports, stadiums, military bases, national parks and other places.