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How China Spied on the African Union’s Computers

mg.co.za

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Re: How China Spied on the African Union’s Computers

#31

Post by toomanybeersies »

There were concerns with using Huawei equipment in New Zealand for the UFB Network (New Zealand's national fiber optic network) for similar reasons.

I can't remember what equipment they ended up using. But all I could think of at the time was that if Huawei and the Chinese weren't spying on us, then Cisco and the US government would be spying on us. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Of course, after Snowden, it was revealed that they were spying on us the whole time, with the NZ government being an enthusiastic participant as one of the Five Eyes nations. They had actually tapped the (only) submarine internet cable running out of New Zealand.

Re: How China Spied on the African Union’s Computers

#32

Post by dhx »

Here's a quick sample of some of China's computer donations to parliaments, defense and foreign affairs departments and police and immigration departments in recent years:

PNG: http://pg.china-embassy.org/eng/zbgx/t849942.htm

Fiji: http://www.fiji.gov.fj/Media-Center/Press-Releases/CHINESE-G...

Botswana: http://bw.china-embassy.org/eng/sbgx/t541543.htm

Maldives: http://www.foreign.gov.mv/index.php/en/mediacentre/news/2786...

Samoa: http://www.samoagovt.ws/2017/01/china-donates-new-computers-...

Cambodia: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-11/03/c_134779443.htm

Mozambique: http://clubofmozambique.com/news/china-donates-100-computers...

Sri Lanka: http://www.colombopage.com/archive_17B/Aug05_1501907095CH.ph...

Ghana: https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2017/06/07/chinese-embassy...

Pakistan: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-09/22/c_136627663.htm

Liberia: http://mofa.gov.lr/public2/2press.php?news_id=880&related=7&...

Zimbabwe: https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-16364-a...

Laos: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-04/12/c_136202934.htm

Macedonia: http://arhiva.vlada.mk/?q=node/5196

Serbia: http://eng.mod.gov.cn/news/2017-06/21/content_4783395.htm

Afghanistan: http://www.gov.cn/misc/2007-01/11/content_493797.htm

Kyrgyzstan: http://en.people.cn/90001/90776/90883/6776679.html

Dominica: http://news.gov.dm/index.php/news/536-china-donates-equipmen...

Barbados: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/china-gives-barbados-over-u...

Guinea Bissau: http://en.africatime.com/guinee_bissau/articles/china-donate...

Moldova: http://www.army.md/index.php/duhovniceti/img/userfiles/info/...

Guyana: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2017/news/stories/11/07/457430/

Nigeria: http://www.spa.gov.sa/299126

Malawi: http://en.africatime.com/malawi/articles/malawi-china-donate...

Yemen: http://ye.mofcom.gov.cn/article/jmxw/201309/20130900303426.s...

Syria: http://sy.china-embassy.org/chn/xwfb/t790038.htm

http://china.aiddata.org/geospatial_dashboard and https://www.lowyinstitute.org/chinese-aid-map/ are interactive maps (albeit using older data) showing where donations and aid have ended up.

These are just the overt instances where press releases are issued with prime ministers, senior officials and ambassadors shaking hands in front of donated computers and laptops. There has also been research such as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GhostNet which is relevant to this discussion.

Also very telling is how Western countries are responding. Some recent articles:

Verizon no longer selling Huawei phones: http://www.afr.com/news/world/verizon-is-said-to-drop-plans-...

AT&T no longer selling Huawei phones: http://www.afr.com/news/world/north-america/att-told-to-stee...

Australia funding a PNG-Solomon Islands-Australia undersea fiber optic cable project to prevent Huawei from getting the contract: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/austra...

Re: How China Spied on the African Union’s Computers

#33

Post by coldtea »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #31

There were concerns with using Huawei equipment in New Zealand for the UFB Network (New Zealand's national fiber optic network) for similar reasons. I can't remember what equipment they ended up using. But all I could think of at the time was that if Huawei and the Chinese weren't spying on us, then Cisco and the US government would be spying on us. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Of course, after Snowden, it…

>Of course, after Snowden, it was revealed that they were spying on us the whole time, with the NZ government being an enthusiastic participant as one of the Five Eyes nations. They had actually tapped the (only) submarine internet cable running out of New Zealand.

Yep, it's mostly theater -- "oh, those pesky Chinese might spy", when they already give every bit out to others.

Re: How China Spied on the African Union’s Computers

#34

Post by coldtea »

M_Bakhtiari wrote: post #17

When will Africa realise that they have to learn to look out for themselves because no-one else will? They declined Europe's "offer" (though realistically Europe really didn't have anything to offer its colonies after being devastated by WWII), but where they that much better off under Soviet influence and are they that much better off under China? It's time they started working towards real independence instead of a…

>They declined Europe's "offer" (though realistically Europe really didn't have anything to offer its colonies after being devastated by WWII), but where they that much better off under Soviet influence

Well, at least they got their freedom from European colonialism.

Although they never really got that 100%.

Re: How China Spied on the African Union’s Computers

#35

Post by coldtea »

tekkk wrote: post #22

Seems such a small gain with potentially huge downside with African countries distancing themselves from China. And so sloppily done too...

>Seems such a small gain with potentially huge downside with African countries distancing themselves from China.

European countries and the US have been meddling in African countries for centuries, even more blatantly (including directly toppling governments or bringing in their armies) and they have hardly "distanced" themselves from them -- and they'll do that to China for such small peanuts?

The population doesn't know better or is kept down, and the leaders do what brings money to their accounts, not to the country.

Re: How China Spied on the African Union’s Computers

#36

Post by analogic »

adventured wrote: post #23
ghostcluster wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No wonder the US pressured Verizon to stop selling Huawei phones completely. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-30/verizon-i... I can feel the tensions between the West and China heating up notch by notch now.. It's a bit uncomfortable. I even feel a personal dampening on what I will say publicly about China on social media, just because of hypothetical tech/travel opportunities, and I don't even live th…

They're also attempting to take control of the local operations of foreign companies in China: "American and European companies involved in joint ventures with state-owned Chinese firms have been asked in recent months to give internal Communist Party cells an explicit role in decision-making" https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/command-an... "Late last month, executives from more than a dozen top Europ…

i'm utterly shocked at this development!

/seriousness

but for real now how do we break into the chinese market!?!?

Re: How China Spied on the African Union’s Computers

#37

Post by konschubert »

adventured wrote: post #24
cm2187 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the phone in your pocket storing some of your most sensitive data is most likely built in China.

Most likely not. For example, half of all Samsung phones are now made in Vietnam. China is gradually losing all of Samsung's business. The same will ultimately hold true for Apple. Ten years from now, the only companies that will still be making smartphones in China, will be their domestic brands. http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/8785-sa...

So weird to read that they are moving production away from China because of high labor costs.

Truely the beginning of a new age.

Re: How China Spied on the African Union’s Computers

#38

Post by cm2187 »

konschubert wrote: post #37
adventured wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most likely not. For example, half of all Samsung phones are now made in Vietnam. China is gradually losing all of Samsung's business. The same will ultimately hold true for Apple. Ten years from now, the only companies that will still be making smartphones in China, will be their domestic brands. http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/8785-sa...

So weird to read that they are moving production away from China because of high labor costs. Truely the beginning of a new age.

Economists tend to forecast at 30 years by extrapolating the last few years. It is not obvious to me that the chinese economic miracle of the last 20 years, largely fueled by foreign investments (every industry in the world outsourcing to China), and after 2008 by domestic debt, is sustainable and reproducible in the long term.

Re: How China Spied on the African Union’s Computers

#39

Post by totalZero »

anvandare wrote: post #3

I'd tear down the whole building; as I'd be very surprised if the walls weren't full of bugs as well, similar to the American Embassy case. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/15/world/the-bugged-embassy-c...

> ''The culprit,'' Mr. Schlesinger said, ''is American complacency, the tendency to assume that the Russians are technically inferior to us and that we can handle them.''

This article may be from 1988, but it seems somewhat applicable to current events.

Re: How China Spied on the African Union’s Computers

#40

Post by vetinari »

adventured wrote: post #23
ghostcluster wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No wonder the US pressured Verizon to stop selling Huawei phones completely. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-30/verizon-i... I can feel the tensions between the West and China heating up notch by notch now.. It's a bit uncomfortable. I even feel a personal dampening on what I will say publicly about China on social media, just because of hypothetical tech/travel opportunities, and I don't even live th…

They're also attempting to take control of the local operations of foreign companies in China: "American and European companies involved in joint ventures with state-owned Chinese firms have been asked in recent months to give internal Communist Party cells an explicit role in decision-making" https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/command-an... "Late last month, executives from more than a dozen top Europ…

Strictly speaking, there are no foreign companies in China.

Only joint ventures, and the Chinese partner has to have the majority. Otherwise you are not going to do business there.

So it may be very well in scope of established rules.

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