Vanguard Magazine

36 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 www.vanguardcanada.com Cyber China's aggressiveness in export and trade is well-known, as it was part of its rise to economic power. Now, the stakes are far above cheaper home electronics, and the government knows that technol- ogy and military advancements are key to their success. Clearly, no Chinese company is fully independent of the Chinese gov- ernment, but Huawei's optic is not a good one. And to what extent Chinese compa- nies can be compelled to assist in intelli- gence gathering for their government is hard to quantify but deeply feared. Huawei's founder, Ren Zhengfei, is a former technologist for the People's Lib- eration Army, and already there have been numerous accusations of theft of intellec- tual property by Huawei. It's taken years, but the international intelligence commu- nity has finally begun to circle the wagons, and Five-Eyes intelligence chiefs (U.S., Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand) have expressed deep concern over pur- chasing or using Huawei and ZTE's tele- communications products, as well as other Chinese companies. So Much to Lose Huawei's involvement in 5G systems – which will fuel even more connectivity in the Internet of Things, such as smart cars, smart homes and smart cities – holds substantial concern. With billions of devices being con- nected and communicating with each other, the breadth of spying risk increases exponen- nologies? Very likely. Maybe they would quietly partner with other companies, like NSO Group, to maximize surveillance technologies? Or maybe they'd just copy their intellectual property for themselves. Possibly this critical infrastructure with high dependency for national security and economic stability becomes a bargain- ing chip, like a missile waiting in a silo. Certainly, the above scenarios spell a di- sastrous outcome for rival nations – and human rights and democracy, if you're into that kind of thing. Right now, they are just scenarios, as little is known of the intent and motives behind some of Hua- wei's actions. The malicious use of technology, as seen in the Khashoggi murder, may be quiet and covertly applied to criminal inten- tions, to move the needle and allow for a tactical advantage, confounding the rules of fair play. The devastating effect of the Pegasus spyware on national security, hu- man rights, free speech, democracy and just processes can only be imagined. We can only expect this to become more common and frequent, while wringing our hands over what can do about it – if anything. The malicious use of technology can also be so obvious and in plain sight, lum- bering along for years, that no one would suspect it may be the mother of all Trojan horses. Suffice it to say, at the least, free- markets and politics are funny bedfellows, and at the worst, they can lay the founda- tion for the most spectacular rise of one nation over the downfall of others, if they are not watching closely. Valarie Findlay is an American Society for Evidenced-Based Policing member and a research fellow for the Police Foundation (USA) with two decades of senior-level ex- pertise in cybersecurity and policing initia- tives. She has worked extensively on fed- eral cyber initiatives and is a member of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police eCrimes Cyber Council and AFCEA DC. She has a Masters in Sociology and a Masters in Terrorism Studies with her dissertation addressing the impacts of terrorism on law enforcement in Western Nations. Meng Wanzhou, right, with a member of her private security detail in Vancouver. Photo: Darryl Dyck. tially and includes more valuable and sensi- tive targets. Presumably, 5G is going to be subjected to increasing security and controls. This alone may exclude Huawei, based on the limited prospects due to its links to the Chinese government. Huawei has repeatedly defended itself by claiming it is a dedicated global leader in telecommunications equipment, already embedded in many Western nation infra- structures, and has complied with all ap- plicable export controls, laws and other regulations. The concerns over security, according to Huawei, are simply the high- handedness of the U.S. and UK in response to China's growth and trade success. Not many are buying it, including Re- publican Senator Ted Cruz. Cruz has called Huawei "a Communist Party spy agency thinly veiled as a telecom compa- ny." Let's suppose for a moment that Cruz is right. If a government were planning to overthrow other superpowers, would they stand up several technology companies that supply essential services (communica- tions) and strategically position them to dominate world markets? Absolutely. Would they implement that infrastruc- ture in key sectors of rival countries and develop devices to run on it, provid- ing even wider control of those markets? Naturally. Would they create dependen- cies and leverage by controlling or shield- ing vulnerabilities meant to be exploited, further compromising users of their tech-

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