Huawei (1 Viewer)

[Dick7Access]

How is Huawei algelily potently able to spy for China? It's confusing to me.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Their firmware collects data and sends it along to China.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

In the same way that we don't know what Access does behind the scenes, we don't know what happens in the Hauwei version of Android or whatever variant they are using.

If you would imagine sending an e-mail to someone via phone, Huawei MIGHT just have a Blind Copy in the "send to" list and not show that it is there because it only gets added AFTER you tap "SEND." I'm not saying that is exactly what they do, but they COULD do that and you would never know. Now multiply that by SMS messages, browser activities, shopping online, ... and in a couple of months they would have quite a log file of actions.

 

[Dick7Access]

Thanks for the Yankee version, and the Cajon version.

 

[Eljefegeneo]

Only way to avoid any of the bad guys from stealing your data. The guy wants to know why he keeps getting ads for things he might have looked up on the internet. When he finds out he takes appropriate action. From the TV series Parks and Rec.

 

[Pat Hartman]

There are other less drastic options. Getting rid of Google anything is a start. Try using DuckDuckGo as your browser and NEVER use GMail. A friend gave me an Alexa for Christmas a few years ago when they first came out. I opened the box Christmas eve and plugged it in and gave it an email but no credit card and rapidly lost interest because it wasn't connected to anything. Two days later, when I went online, I was getting ads for stuff the grandchildren got for Christmas. I created a dummy email and changed it on the device. Then packed up the Dot and put it in the Good Will box so it is probably spying on someone else now.

It looks like it is time to make 1984 required reading again. Big Brother is watching you and listening to everything you say on your phone, your TV, your new car, your refrigerator, and any other "smart" device you have activated. We can assume that the majority are benign although they use what they hear to try to sell you stuff but when a government gets involved, the reason for listening is no longer benign. The government (especially China) has no business listening to you or monitoring your communications. Our cities are blanketed with cameras monitoring everything that goes on and facial recognition software is running to look for criminals one would presume. I didn't use to be a paranoid person but I am not at all happy about not being able to ever be invisible again. This is not a good thing for us people and we should rise up against it.

For some people, the convenience of living in a connected world seems compelling. But by giving up our privacy willy-nilly, we are also giving up our freedom. Remember folks, when you vote by mail or email, your ballot is no longer secret. What happens if you vote for the "wrong" person again? If Biden gets elected, do you really want his people to know that you voted for Trump, not once but twice? Look at what the Chinese are doing to control their own people. We are one election away from being in the same boat.

 

[Isaac]

For some people, the convenience of living in a connected world seems compelling

I have to admit being one of those people. While I share privacy concerns, I feel current privacy legislation -- and there is a lot of it -- has been largely ineffective as it's mostly geared toward allowing a consumer to investigate, if they so choose (and who the heck understands the process of doing so??), what x-company DOES with their information. But what good is that, it's not mostly changing anything.

I admit that I use Google-everything (gmail, photos, chrome), and using Chrome has been one of the most convenient tech-related scenarios I think I've ever had in my whole life. I don't really see many ads (Gmail certainly doesn't have them), and having my history/bookmarks/passwords/payment information available "everywhere" at the touch of a sign-in, and syncing between devices, is something I just can't resist, it's so helpful. Every payday when I do my bills, it's just a matter of clicking on about 20 bookmarks. I use Chrome for anything with a password or username and for the rest of my life I don't have to remember anything..

I guess personally, my main concern would be what "other people" can see about my private accounts ... I've already raised the white flag on the fact that any tech company I touch knows everything about me..and I've always found Google's products to be quite secure in my personal experience. Yahoo, Hotmail, etc., are garbage.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Cyber Warfare is in our future. I just hope our bad guys are better than "their" bad guys. In the meantime, I eschew the convenience and limit my cyber footprint. Being a programmer, i know too much about what is possible. We already know that Google, Facebook, and Twitter actively take sides in political arguments by deciding what is "hate" speech or "lies". How can the public ever get unbiased information or even just see all sides of an argument when the press and social media are in cahoots?

 

[deletedT]

Their firmware collects data and sends it along to China.

Is it a MAYBE? or is it proven?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

@Tera, I have to answer this delicately. When I was still actively employed as a U.S. Navy contractor, I had a SECRET clearance. We received briefings. Due to non-disclosure agreements, I cannot name names for fear of compromising sources, but let's say that in this case, where there is smoke, there is definitely a fire. It is real and HAS been real since about 2012, when I had the first of several briefings.

 

[deletedT]

@The_Doc_Man
To be honest, I'm lost. Our media still says there's a possibility and no one knows for sure. What makes me confused is that everybody is talking about fake media when it comes to President Trump, but when it comes to other countries, nobody even doubt what they say.

There are a lot of rumors around. Everybody knows that iphone has dropped to third after China(Huawei) and Korea (Samsung), and a lot of people believe that it's a way to add a brake to their improvement and selling. Some way to attract more people to iphone.
I really think if there's any proof on this, US has to show it to the world. Why keep it a secret? Except when there's still some uncertainty around.

Edit : Not that I doubt you, but you know, showing some proofs, makes it much easier to believe US side.

 

[Isaac]

As an [average?] person who doesn't have proof and doesn't have a privileged knowledge of some kind like Doc seems to have, but still, my position would be: We sort of know how China tends to operate. Even if there wasn't absolute proof of it, it's one of those "it's GOT to be happening" type of things. When it comes to subjects containing the question: "Is China illicitly re-using other people's information that it theoretically has the access to be able to do so?" .... My answer is "Most Definitely".
Ok that's not scientific method, but ...

 

[deletedT]

@Isaac Then how about Google, Amazon, Apple and other US base big companies? They've being using personal information for years. Aren't they?

 

[AccessBlaster]

Then how about Google, Amazon, Apple and other US base big companies? They've being using personal information for years. Aren't they?

Exactly, your yahoo account isn't free. You give them the rights to your privacy, in exchange for a cute little mailbox.

Pretty sure most devices have been reverse engineered to check for spying. Someone knows the answers.

One thing we do know about Google is they are helping China with AI. China spies not only on themselves but all visitors, and Google helps them. Google is perfecting its spying capability's in China because it's illegal here in the states, at least right NOW.

 

[Pat Hartman]

I have friends who go to China on business regularly and they work for different companies. Both bring burner phones with no personal information and same for PCs. They cannot bring ANY electronically stored data that could be hacked. Their employers give them the clean phones and clean computers and they're all wiped again when they come home.

As to stuff you get on line for "free". If it is "free", YOU are the product and you are giving them access to whatever their agreement (which no one reads) asks for. So, it's your own fault when they misuse your information. Why do games need access to ANYTHING? and yet they make you agree to share location and even contacts and other stuff.

The difference with the Chinese is that we are paying for the product so we do not expect to be hacked. That's why I trust Microsoft and Apple (even though I would never use an Apple product).

It saddens me that the Chinese have resorted to being thieves and cheats. That must be a product of the Cultural Revolution. Ancient China was the most advanced country in the world. They created great inventions and great ideas. Now, they just lie, cheat, and steal.

If it were possible to revoke a company's "citizenship", I would revoke Google's in a heartbeat. They are as anti-American as it gets outside of the NBA. Good thing I prefer college basketball.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I really think if there's any proof on this, US has to show it to the world. Why keep it a secret?

Because of the same problem when Alan Turing and his team broke Enigma in Blechley Park. If you break your enemy's code and then do something that proves to him that you have his codes, what will he do? Answer: Change his codes! Negate all your work by making it obsolete. If you have not seen the movie The Imitation Game then you might not have a feel for this. But it is true.

If we reveal HOW we know about the undesirable activity, we facility our enemy's ability to plug that hole. And then all we have is the memory that someone was monitoring us illegally and we can no longer tell what they are monitoring. It is a case of "the devil you know vs. the devil you don't."

 

[AccessBlaster]

If we reveal HOW we know about the undesirable activity, we facility our enemy's ability to plug that hole.

Good point, maybe we should feed the beast something unexpected.

 

[deletedT]

Because of the same problem when Alan Turing and his team broke Enigma in Blechley Park. If you break your enemy's code and then do something that proves to him that you have his codes, what will he do? Answer: Change his codes!

Doc, when Alan Turing broke Enigma, they kept it secret for 50 years. Even when the war was over, they UK didn't revealed that they had broken into Enigma. They didn't even said we knew about all your communications.

United State says that we know China is stealing personal information from the phones but doesn't show a proof.
I mean if President Trump says personal data is leaked from our phones, so they know that their code is broken. At this point the enemy knows the secret is revealed. So what's the deal. What really US is trying to hide?

I hope you understand what I mean. I just say if there's a reason to keep it a secret, why US says we know what you are doing.
If President Trump prefer to reveal the secret and says we know, I say show me the proof.

 

[CJ_London]

whether they are stealing data at the moment or not is irrelevant - what matters is if they have the ability to be able to steal in the future - and worse - bring communications to a grinding halt or provide pathways to other systems

 

[deletedT]

whether they are stealing data at the moment or not is irrelevant - what matters is if they have the ability to be able to steal in the future - and worse - bring communications to a grinding halt or provide pathways to other systems

Again the world thinks the same about US base apps. Why Facebook or others are allowed to be in the same situation and they are not under attack?