A congressional committee hints that China may be spying on your phone calls and emails. Spying may be accomplished through the software code and telecommunication equipment manufactured by two large Chinese firms.
On October 8, 2012, Chairman Mike Rogers and Ranking Member C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence issued the Investigative Report on the U.S. National Security Issues Posed by Chinese Telecommunications Companies Huawei and ZTE.
The clear message from the 52-page report written in polite and politically correct language, perhaps not to alienate China, is that two major Chinese telecommunication equipment companies, Huawei and ZTE, may be facilitating spying on western interests. The report makes five recommendations.
The first recommendation reaches the heart of the matter. You can judge for yourself. “The United States should view with suspicion the continued penetration of the U.S. telecommunications market by Chinese telecommunications companies.
- The United States Intelligence Community (IC) must remain vigilant and focused on this threat. The IC should actively seek to keep cleared private sector actors as informed of the threat as possible.
- The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) must block acquisitions, takeovers, or mergers involving Huawei and ZTE given the threat to U.S. national security interests. Legislative proposals seeking to expand CFIUS to include purchasing agreements should receive thorough consideration by relevant Congressional committees.
- U.S. government systems, particularly sensitive systems, should not include Huawei or ZTE equipment, including in component parts…Read more at Forbes