In February, US Attorney General William Barr argued China’s robust buildup of 5G communications networks and technology is one of America’s greatest national security threats. That conclusion came as little surprise for industry experts and intelligence analysts who have honed in on the implications of the new technology. The common takeaway from them is that 5G is here, the US is losing the race to China, and as a result, America might not be prepared for modern-day warfare.

What is 5G?

Put simply, 5G is the next phase of wireless networks. Every four or five years, technology companies rollout new protocols that enable faster data speeds — up to 100 times faster once fully implemented. In the case of 5G, the gap between it and its predecessor, 4G, is longer than that of the previous generation.

While 4G was standardized in 2008 by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), 4G-enabled devices didn’t hit markets until a few years later. The first 4G iPhone, for example, didn’t arrive until 2012. Although tech companies coordinate with the ITU to develop standards, thus ensuring devices from different manufactures are compatible with each other and a wide range of operators, creating chips to enable the technology is another mission entirely.

All About the Chips

Manufacturers must design or outsource the design for the computer chips, produce them in sufficient quantities, and ensure they don’t drain battery life too fast. That last point is the largest barrier to the speedy deployment of new network protocols like 5G — the first chips of any generation are power hungry. It’s for this reason that Apple often delays its adoption of new network technology for a year or two after Android smartphone producers.

5G brings another benefit in addition to faster data speeds — it allows a greater number of devices to connect at one time. This is crucial for the new Internet of Things (IoT) industry. Everything from microwaves to doorbells and automobiles is connected to the internet these days. 5G allows a greater number of devices to connect because it boasts a higher bandwidth than its predecessor. This can be equated to driving down a two-lane road versus a four-lane highway.

Latency, the amount of time it takes for a device to connect to a cellphone tower and receive a response, is vastly improved. The practical implications for the technology open doors to use cases previously unthought of, such as a jet engine manufacturer that implemented 5G to detect production errors.

As a result, mobile networks will be less congested, thereby enabling stronger coverage for consumers. However, the benefits of 5G are also their weaknesses which present challenges that governments must overcome.

Security Risks

The more devices that connect to the internet, the more opportunities hackers have to force their way into a network, the Brookings Institute reported. Also, due to the nature of 5G technology, networks are different from a hardware standpoint. While previous network protocols featured a centralised hub through which traffic was routed, 5G is built on software routing that is spread across the network.

The over-reliance on software to manage 5G networks presents vulnerabilities that didn’t exist or were minimized with previous iterations of wireless technology.

“In a world of interconnected networks, devices, and applications, every activity is a potential attack vector. This vulnerability is only heightened by the nature of 5G and its highly desirable attributes,” Tom Wheeler, former chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission, and David Simpson, former chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, wrote for Brookings.

A lack of cybersecurity investment by US businesses and a “cumbersome” FCC process to establish new rules hindered attempts to  be proactive about locking down new 5G technology.

Private hackers are only one concern. The greater threat is state and state-backed cyber warfare. China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia have all made successful attempts to infiltrate US networks. The threat is serious enough that the Pentagon, no longer content with playing defence against hackers, authorised US Cyber Command to go on the offensive against foreign governments. Cyber Command has largely focused on disabling communications systems and eliminating cyber warfare capabilities of adversaries.

5G Turns Political

“We have evidence that Huawei has the capability secretly to access sensitive and personal information in systems it maintains and sells around the world,” said US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien in February.

The allegation was the latest in a year-long battle between the US government and Chinese tech conglomerate Huawei. Specifically, the Trump administration accused the business of building backdoors into their network equipment. Together, Huawei and China-based ZTE have built 40% of the world’s 5G network infrastructure.

American officials decided to ban Huawei and ZTE, citing national security, barring American businesses from using them to build their 5G networks with Chinese equipment. In May, he extended the order for another year. Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have also engaged in a concerted campaign to compel allies to ban the companies in their states under threat of reducing intelligence cooperation.

“Our economic future is at stake,” Barr said in February. “The risk of losing the 5G struggle with China should vastly outweigh other considerations.”

For America, the 5G war with China is a race to own the technology and dominate the industry to lock out Beijing, but the US is presently losing. American companies simply don’t offer the technology that Huawei does, and certainly not at its low prices. Instead, US networks have to look to European-based Ericsson and Nokia, both of which have picked up substantially more contracts following international backlash against Huawei.

To be clear, allegations against Huawei and ZTE have thus far been unfounded. Technology experts have never uncovered supposed backdoors. However, with US–China relations broken down and recent Beijing-backed cyber espionage attempts, the Trump administration is unlikely to relent.

Beijing’s Hacking Highlight’s US Trust Issues 

On May 13, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security alerted healthcare companies that China is attempting to hack COVID-19 research data. 

“These actors have been observed attempting to identify and illicitly obtain valuable intellectual property (IP) and public health data related to vaccines, treatments, and testing from networks and personnel affiliated with COVID-19-related research,” the agencies wrote. “The potential theft of this information jeopardizes the delivery of secure, effective, and efficient treatment options.”

Beijing’s actions do little to inspire confidence in Washington and will only hurt its tech companies seeking to export their 5G technology. Even if Huawei and ZTE are innocent, their government is not and that has transformed 5G networks into a political issue.

Finally, as a Barr said, 5G network deployment represents the first time America has lagged behind on the global stage. That realisation, that China has access to faster, more reliable networks before the US, hurts perhaps more than threats of cyber warfare because US President Donald Trump’s motto is “make America great again.”

5G Delayed

All of these factors mean that 5G networks and equipment will be delayed in the US. While some operators have branded their latest offerings as “5G,” the truth is that they are usually downscaled version. True 5G uses a technology known as “millimetre wave,” but access to this coverage is highly limited.

Instead operators are making smaller improvements and simply labeling it as 5G. AT&T, for example, has even rebranded a subsegment of its 4G network to call it “5GE.”

For a true network progression to 5G in the US, the political issues between Washington and Beijing need to be resolved or American companies must begin developing their own infrastructure solutions. Even then, the new security risks of 5G mean that companies and consumers must take greater precautions as they connect their devices to the new generation networks.

L'articolo Why Has 5G Become a Political Issue proviene da InsideOver.

Huawei’s international troubles continue, this time in Germany where members of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party have gone against her wishes. Merkel favored an open bidding process for deploying 5G telecommunications infrastructure, which would have left the door open for the Chinese tech giant to gain a new European foothold. However, party delegates decided to force a debate and vote in the Bundestag at the Christian Democratic Union’s annual convention this weekend.

Party Rift

The rift between the chancellor and delegates from her party on Huawei is a matter of principle for both sides. Merkel views it at a hallmark of free-market capitalism to allow bids from all qualified parties. She also considers Huawei’s access to Europe against the backdrop of the global 5G rollout. As wireless carriers and governments rush to be on the frontlines of 5G adoption, they are often left with few options, leaving Huawei as not only the most economical option, but often the most capable. 

Huawei made its name on the back of its efficient and cheap telecom technology. Europe was its first international market when the company decided to expand beyond China. Compared to Ericsson and Nokia, European firms, the Chinese brand experienced rapid growth thanks to government funding and incentives that would be barred by European Union market regulations. 

“Huawei’s efforts have been accelerated due to the government subsidizing Huawei’s technology and providing similar incentives to expedite infrastructure development,” said Nate Snyder, former cybersecurity expert for the United States Department of Homeland Security. 

Alternatives 

Due to the US imposing a ban on Huawei technology and also heavily pressuring its allies to follow suit, the European branch won more contracts and saw their stocks rise as a result. They are not bad alternatives either, even if they are costlier than Huawei. In a competitive assessment by GlobalData, Ericsson scored nearly as high as its Chinese competition across several categories including architecture, standards, and 5G. 

Ericsson and Nokia offer something else that Huawei does not: security. A top issue for German politicians, an EU study found deficiencies in its 5G software.

“What the EU assessment report shows, however, is that while China’s/Huawei’s solution may be first to market and cheapest, it is unstable, full of flaws, and leaves itself open to potential exploitation by various threats and actors,” said Snyder.

Security risks aside, the main concern with Huawei is allegations that it funnels data back to Beijing. Chinese law compels businesses to assist the government’s intelligence agencies. As Merkel chose to allow the company into Germany, she insisted that it sign a “no-spying pact,” but such an agreement would hold little weight when the company is beholden to Beijing. 

Security

Merkel’s opposition within the Bundestag will make a Huawei 5G network difficult to approve. Former minister Norbert Röttgen was the most vocal opponent to the idea.

“No Chinese company is an independent company,” Röttgen said. “We must not allow any Chinese State influence on the Chinese net.” 

Röttgen helped lead the passage of a motion at the CDU conference to instil the Bundestag with the power to determine security standards for 5G infrastructure. He was backed by Merkel’s successor as party leader, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. 

“We will define the security standard, and we will check whether it will be adhered to,” she said. “I think that’s a good, stable foundation for the different viewpoints on this issue.”

Other parties in the Bundestag have voiced objections to Huawei’s German access. The Greens sided against Huawei and the Social Democrats desired stronger language prohibiting “non-trustworthy manufacturers, especially if unconstitutionally controlled interference, manipulation or espionage cannot be ruled out.”

The move to shut the door on Huawei appears to be winning out among all parties, even the CDU, pitting the Bundestag against its chancellor. Merkel was one of the few European holdouts against restrictions on the Chinese telecom giant, despite calls from Washington to ban Huawei or face repercussions on the intelligence-sharing front. 

While on one hand Merkel damages relations with the US, on the other it imperils its relationship with China, its largest trading partner. The German automobile industry, in particular, is heavily reliant on China. Half of the profit for Daimler, Volkswagen, and BMW came from the Asian state and more German cars are sold there than any other foreign country. Germany exports nearly as much as it imports, 93.1 billion euros worth of goods versus 106.2 billion euros imported in 2018. 

L'articolo Merkel’s Party Defies Her on Huawei 5G Networks in Germany proviene da InsideOver.

Maverick technology mastermind, or serpentine subordinate of the Chinese state? Ren Zhengfei, founder of Huawei, splits opinion. He’s grown the telecom firm to a $100bn behemoth, but his ties to the Communist Party are clear, and he – like any Chinese citizen, rich or poor – is obligated to do its bidding. Convinced of his skulduggery, Trump’s America has blacklisted Huawei; but now, unexpectedly, a peace offering of sorts from Ren. Huawei is willing to sell its network technology to US firms, he announced last week, a move that could – in principle – allay deep-set surveillance fears.

Adjacent to the spiralling trade war with China, Washington’s feud with Huawei has become a totem of worsening East-West relations. As he’s piled on the commercial tariffs, so too has Mr Trump restricted American involvement with the technology giant. Security fears drive the action, the White House says, arguing that Huawei’s equipment may contain ‘back doors’ for Beijing snoopers. Alongside government agencies, US businesses have been ordered not to deal with the Chinese company.

The impasse is not insurmountable, though, says Ren, who has forwarded a novel solution – licensing Huawei’s 5G technology to American firms for a one-time fee. He envisages a win-win scenario – the US being able to “build up their own 5G [network]”, while Huawei benefits from the growth in sales and competition. On the surface, it’s a promising offer. America has no indigenous 5G network manufacturer, and the only alternatives to Huawei – Nokia and Ericsson – are far less affordable.   

More importantly, his proposal would also pacify worries around security, Ren argues. American clients would be able to review and modify their ‘source code’, meaning neither Huawei nor the Chinese government could, hypothetically, gain access to the network. It is, in effect, an offer of transparency – every nook and cranny where a back door may be hidden would be open for inspection.

It’s an unprecedented move, and one that reflects Huawei’s hastening efforts to break the deadlock. The usually camera-shy Mr Ren has been wheeled out time and again this year, part of the company’s concerted charm offensive. A glance at their books explains why. Huawei made a barnstorming $105bn in sales last year, roughly half of which were from its smartphone range. Like most non-Apple devices, their handsets run Android software. Google, the platform’s maker, is California-based, and so is subject to Washington’s Huawei embargo. The firm is working on a proprietary replacement, HarmonyOS, but a mighty hit to the bottom line is anticipated.

That, of course, is of no concern to those with security fears. Critics say that, while open to scrutiny, Huawei’s code would have to be combed through again and again after every (frequent) update. And even if the technology was declared clear, Western firms would be adopting a platform intimately familiar to Chinese hackers. A worrying ‘dependency’ on Huawei to maintain the network could also emerge, experts warn.    

“An American company that installed such equipment would be highly dependent on Huawei engineers and software experts to keep the system running,” said Claude Barfield of the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank. “Moreover, 5G technology will present enormous, even intractable, cybersecurity issues – with multiple entry points into the system and almost continuous software upgrades”.

Regardless, US companies who stand to lose millions from the ban have been voicing their dissent. Microsoft, one of America’s biggest businesses and supplier of Huawei’s computer software, has been pressing regulators to explain the embargo – but to no avail. “Oftentimes, what we get in response is, ‘Well, if you knew what we knew, you would agree with us,’” said Microsoft President Brad Smith recently. “And our answer is, ‘Great, show us what you know, so we can decide for ourselves. That’s the way this country works’”. 

In truth, even if Ren’s offer was to mollify White House rancour, the proposition is plagued with uncertainty. Embroiled in a bitter dispute with the Americans, would Beijing – whose influence over Huawei is critical – allow core parts of the company to be peddled in the West? And who would even want to buy into the 5G market, dominated as it is by low-cost Huawei? (On that, Ren admits he was “no idea”.)

But there is nonetheless merit to the proposal. With many in Europe willing to do business with Huawei in spite of US obstinacy, the world risks being riven by a new ‘Berlin cyber-Wall’. Fears of a technological cold war shouldn’t spurn an appropriate wariness of Huawei, but its offer deserves a fair hearing.

L'articolo Huawei’s Unprecedented Offer To End US Ban proviene da InsideOver.

Spare a thought for American spooks – their job category appears highly imperiled right now. At risk are perhaps less the jobs of US intelligence “field agents,” but rather the National Security Agency tech spies who make a living monitoring all manner of electronic data. With China’s spurt ahead in 5G communications, and its accompanying quantum cryptography, a great many Western intelligence functions are at least stifled, if not over for good.

Also, if the warnings around the happy commercial relationship between American corporates and Chinese manufacturing are going to come home to roost, the 5G implications for US spies might be the most telling resting place. Perhaps more than merely being spied upon themselves, the US intelligence community is alarmed by the lead China has opened in 5G mobile broadband. It bluntly implies the dysfunction of hundreds of thousands of government surveillance jobs that assume a level playing field. While tech wars typically play out between nations largely tweaking shared systems, looking for an edge, China “owning” the 5G rollout creates a different scenario.

Where those US tax dollars now go

In a messy repeating cycle often caricatured in Hollywood movies, government agencies in America are allocated their funds based on the previous year’s spending. In there too is the commonsense of business planning and budgeting, but also a huge amount of self-justification. American government agencies all vie for a slice of the next budget. Being able to spend half a billion dollars in a year, for example, builds a solid case for a department to claim another half billion allocation next year, and maybe more. The US’ intelligence gathering community consumes over $80 billion per annum. Of this amount, almost all goes to the National Intelligence Program and the Military Intelligence Program. Electronic eavesdropping, for want of a better term, takes up most of that $80 billion. With China now in the lead on 5G, that kind of surveillance hasn’t simply become more challenging, it’s going to be impossible in the very near future.

US spy agencies now not only face allocation cuts, they will also face existential questions around why such constant monitoring should be in place when 5G is taking over. More accurately, how such surveillance will happen, when Asia has all the boxes ticked on 5G. The phenomenon of quantum cryptography is at the heart of the dilemma. The pioneers in the field, the Chinese, are way ahead with the employment of unbreakable data locks. A vastly enhanced security layer is enacted with 5G. Generated by computers, to computers, as the quantum nature of encryption on the network becomes reality, it will mean traditional “hacking-in” isn’t going to work anymore.

Computers will be encrypting data on 5G, which is bad news for humans who are used to previously being able to “get around” security protocols to view or steal data. Indeed, while there are other specific issues with Chinese Huawei’s rollout in Europe and America, the fundamental construct of 5G is the issue for US surveillance, as the intelligence agencies know that they’ll be locked out of 5G. Having Huawei at the head of its global rollout is just salt in the wound for US intelligence. 

Google has also recently limited Huawei’s access to Android updates, beyond that which is available in the public record. Such toeing of the local line by large American tech corporations seem destined only to accelerate a Chinese hegemony. Huawei has indicated it intends bringing its own Android-rival platform off the drawing board and into application. In keeping with the current trade wars – as well as spurred by fears of spying China outdoing America technically – the US is caught in a moment of defeat. 

Consummately sure of its position in the world and now also visibly ahead with tech, China and its major corporations are not about to bow to empty threats from any quarter. With a home market of over a billion people, Chinese tech firms also have a massive cushion, untouchable by outside interests.

A many-headed 5G dilemma

US senators are confusing 5G with the company Huawei, although that’s understandable. Donald Trump doesn’t like Huawei, he doesn’t like China, and no one but Beijing likes the fact that China is on the top rung of 5G going into a fast-paced future. For its part, as the 5G boss of the world, Huawei has rendered much of its tech open-source, playing open cards to reassure other nations of their benign, strictly commercial intentions.

The NSA’s previous ability to listen in on world leaders and foreign threats alike proved enormously valuable to American interests. And its practitioners too have swelled in number over the last decade. All of that might now come to a grinding halt. With a direct correlation between its value of intel and its annual funding, American intelligence faces the real prospect of shedding a large amount of practices, staff and, ultimately, value.

No doubt this is not the endgame. However, few futurists will venture suggestions as to how 5G encrypted broadband might one day become “obsolete” enough to suffer traditional hacking. The US’ current refrain is that 5G in the hands of Huawei might allow the construction of secret access ports that will compromise communicated data. Such architecture would also allow China to debilitate the US in a moment of conflict – unthinkable to Washington hawks. Ever the Asian oddball, to date, only Japan has acceded to US demands that countries block Huawei’s attempts to really establish abroad.

In the end, money will talk

There remains little doubt by investors and commentators that Huawei’s ambitious plans won’t be thwarted. Huawei is noting other countries’ reticence to yield to American demands. It already has a green light in Europe. And, in the final analysis, it will offer spin-offs, benefits, and a costing structure hard to decline, in order to network the globe.

As for US intelligence, they now live in a world where there’s more than one communication technology in play. That makes the level playing field of the past a sad reminiscence, as now eavesdropping will become largely impossible.

With quantum communication, the very system that makes data transfer possible, can’t be stolen. Any third party interference destroys the very signal they’re trying to capture. Two years ago, Chinese scientists placed a video call to colleagues in Vienna. That signal was created by employing atoms halfway across the planet. Quantum communication has been a physics application largely developed by China, and now the moment of rollout is upon the world. 

It’s not entirely clear how particularly America has been caught with their pants down this time, as they must have seen this coming.

Whatever the US response to the game changing might be, it spells bad news for every intelligence gathering US spy. It’s likely that a massive layoff is inevitable over the next few years. That said, the senate is always loathe to stop spending the taxpayer’s money, and might yet redirect current funding into alternative spy pursuits. Likely to be top priorities among them – how to hack 5G, and how to catch up with and defeat China in the tech space. 

L'articolo The United States is Losing the Spy Wars proviene da InsideOver.

The battle to assure global national security passes through Chinese cyberspace. The recent ban of Huawei and ZTE technologies by the American government raises several questions on the adoption of the 5G broadband system.

The United States was followed in its decision by Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Czech Republic, among others. All of them have imposed restrictions on the use of Huawei and Zte 5G solutions over national security concerns.

The official reason is simple. In 2017 China issued a law that requires all organizations and individuals to collaborate with its national intelligence agencies. In other words, Chinese companies are not only funded by the Chinese government but also legally compelled to work with its intelligence services. The fear is that as a result of this cooperation using Chinese technology will allow Chinese intelligence services a backdoor to penetrate the American government networks.

The second reason is that this involves lots of money and economic interests, considering that spending on cybersecurity in the United States alone reached $66 billion in 2018, according to the American Telecommunications Industry Association.

American and European universities, with MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) on the front line, are breaking all ties with the Huawei and ZTE groups and initiating a review of all scientific research and collaboration proposals with China, including Hong Kong. The review process initiated by MIT also concerns Russia and Saudi Arabia, in addition to China.

The universities do not want to engage in future research projects with these two companies or to renew the existing ones. They have already blocked any funding from Huawei after the US government accused the group of stealing technology and disregarding sanctions against Iran. Meng Zhengfei, CFO and daughter of Huawei CEO was arrested in Vancouver last December after an extradition request made by the American government and is still under house arrest.

Concerns are directed to the profiles inherent in intellectual property, export controls, security and access to data and widen to include economic competitiveness and national security, political, civil and human rights.

The attitude taken by the United States towards Chinese technology is quite varied. It passes from binding regulatory or administrative instruments aimed at specific producers, to guidelines such as those of Estonia. Australia and Japan. The latter have adopted mandatory safety guidelines excluding suppliers potentially controlled by foreign governments. New Zealand has blocked an operator’s plan to distribute Huawei’s 5G technology under the 2013 telecommunications law due to “significant risks to national security”.

The European Commission at the end of March stated a set of recommendations “to assess cybersecurity risks of 5G networks and to strengthen preventive measures”. But not every European country is on the same path. It seems Germany intends to pursue a kind of third way between the total exclusion decided by some countries and the creation of a security system like the one developed in the United Kingdom.

One relevant topic of 5G concerns the method that this technology uses to make communications with the mobile phones more secure. The Authentication and Key Agreement (Aka) protocol, an improved version of the one used for 3G and 4G, could make the  interception of a device more difficult by surveillance tools that allow its identification and tracking.

Whether the risk of such collaboration is real or perceived, the fear remains. Adopting 5G technology from Chinese companies  would introduce a reliance on equipment which can be controlled by the Chinese intelligence services and the military in both peacetime and crisis? Another consideration is that infrastructure decisions are not easily reversed. Once a 5G provider has been chosen it will be very costly and time consuming to roll back that decision and from a security perspective, potentially too late.

On the other side lies the nature and the potential of 5G. More than simply a new, cool technology that offers improved quality, speed and innovative possibilities, 5G networks have the potential of becoming the digital nervous system of contemporary societies. However, no technology can be assured to be fully secure, and the risk of unexpected vulnerabilities that can be exploited by a malicious actor will have to be factored into the calculation.

China’s known capability and inclination to take advantage of this feature make the issue of 5G deployment more than a mere technocratic matter. It needs to be considered comprehensively, recognizing that the choice of technology has both economic and national security implications.

Despite uncertainties in the process “We should carry on the spirit of partnership and remain true to our original aspirations and resolutely advance our cooperation” said Xi during the recent second BRI Forum in Beijing.

Will cybersecurity compromise  Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative plan? It’s too early to state but it could slow it down, giving time for western companies to embrace a better focused strategy and conquer a bigger marketshare.

L'articolo Cybersecurity is Reshaping the World’s Economic and Political Order proviene da InsideOver.