Tech
Chinese Spies Accused of Using Huawei in Secret Australia Telecom Hack
Published
3 years agoon
The U.S. government has warned for years that products from China’s Huawei Technologies Co., the world’s biggest maker of telecommunications equipment, pose a national security risk for any countries that use them. As Washington has waged a global campaign to block the company from supplying state-of-the-art 5G wireless networks, Huawei and its supporters have dismissed the claims as lacking evidence.
Now a Bloomberg News investigation has found a key piece of evidence underpinning the U.S. efforts — a previously unreported breach that occurred halfway around the world nearly a decade ago.
In 2012, Australian intelligence officials informed their U.S. counterparts that they had detected a sophisticated intrusion into the country’s telecommunications systems. It began, they said, with a software update from Huawei that was loaded with malicious code.
The breach and subsequent intelligence sharing was confirmed by nearly two dozen former national security officials who received briefings about the matter from Australian and U.S. agencies from 2012 to 2019. The incident substantiated suspicions in both countries that China used Huawei equipment as a conduit for espionage, and it has remained a core part of a case they’ve built against the Chinese company, even as the breach’s existence has never been made public, the former officials said.https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.493.0_en.html#goog_1149147929Chinese Spies Accused of Using Huawei in Secret Telecom HackWATCH: Chinese Spies Accused of Using Huawei in Secret Telecom Hack
The episode helps clarify previously opaque security concerns driving a battle over who will build 5G networks, which promise to bring faster internet connectivity to billions of people around the globe. Shenzhen-based Huawei dominates the more than $90 billion global telecommunications equipment market, where it competes against Sweden’s Ericsson AB and Finland’s Nokia Oyj. But the U.S., Australia, Sweden and the U.K. have all banned Huawei from their 5G networks, and about 60 countries signed on to a U.S. Department of State program where they’ve committed to avoiding Chinese equipment for their telecommunications systems. Such efforts, which have also included U.S. sanctions against the Chinese company, have slowed Huawei’s growth and heightened tensions with China.Sponsored ContentThe Chinese Energy Company Taking the Lead on DecarbonizationENN Energy
The briefings described to Bloomberg contained varying degrees of detail, and the former officials who received them had different levels of knowledge of — and willingness to discuss — specifics. Seven of them agreed to provide detailed accounts of the evidence uncovered by Australian authorities and included in their briefings.
At the core of the case, those officials said, was a software update from Huawei that was installed on the network of a major Australian telecommunications company. The update appeared legitimate, but it contained malicious code that worked much like a digital wiretap, reprogramming the infected equipment to record all the communications passing through it before sending the data to China, they said. After a few days, that code deleted itself, the result of a clever self-destruct mechanism embedded in the update, they said. Ultimately, Australia’s intelligence agencies determined that China’s spy services were behind the breach, having infiltrated the ranks of Huawei technicians who helped maintain the equipment and pushed the update to the telecom’s systems.
Guided by Australia’s tip, American intelligence agencies that year confirmed a similar attack from China using Huawei equipment located in the U.S., six of the former officials said, declining to provide further detail.
Mike Rogers, a former Republican congressman from Michigan who was chair of the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee from 2011 to 2015, declined to discuss the incidents. But he confirmed that national bans against Huawei have been driven in part by evidence, presented in private to world leaders, that China has manipulated the company’s products through tampered software updates, also known as patches.
“All their intelligence services have pored over the same material,” said Rogers, a former FBI agent who is now a national security commentator on CNN. “This whole body of work has come to the same conclusion: It’s all about administrative access, and the administrative patches that come out of Beijing are not to be trusted.”
Many people familiar with Australia’s intelligence told Bloomberg that they were bound by confidentiality agreements and couldn’t discuss it on the record. But Michèle Flournoy, former under secretary of defense for policy at the Department of Defense under President Barack Obama, said she wasn’t constrained from doing so.
Flournoy, who is co-founder and managing partner of WestExec Advisors LLC, a national security consulting firm closely aligned with the Obama and Biden administrations, confirmed the intrusion and the tampered software update from Huawei. She said she learned about the episode after leaving government in early 2012, emphasizing that the information was shared in unclassified forums.
“The Australians from the get-go have been courageous in sharing the information they had, not only with the intelligence channels but more broadly in government channels,” Flournoy said. “Australia experienced it, but it was also a vicarious wake-up call for Australia’s allies.”
The Australian Signals Directorate, that country’s leading cybersecurity agency, declined to answer specific questions about the incident. “Whenever ASD discovers a cyber incident affecting an entity, it engages the relevant entity to provide advice and assistance,” the agency said in a statement. “ASD’s assistance is confidential — it is a matter for relevant entities to comment publicly on any cybersecurity incident.”
You may like
-
Huawei OceanStor Pacific Ranks highest in Gartner Critical Capabilities Report
-
Semiconductor association flags Huawei home chip push
-
ZTE hits back at European Commission claims
-
Huawei founder outlines local component push
-
U.S. charges two Chinese nationals with obstructing Huawei case, source says
-
Huawei partners with GOLDEN HARVEST to build a cloud-based, fully connected smart Bangladesh
Tech
Rampant Corruption Plagues ICT Sector in 15 years : White Paper
Published
3 weeks agoon
December 3, 2024
Highlights
- ICT sector plagued by corruption
- Hi-Tech parks fail to attract investors
- Lack of transparency in project implementation
- Misuse of funds to benefit preferred vendors
- Calls for robust project evaluations
The White Paper on the State of the Bangladesh Economy, submitted to the Chief Adviser today (1 December), identified the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector as one of the most affected by corruption.
“The review of the White Paper puts the banking sector on top of the most corruption-ravaged sectors, followed by physical infrastructure, and energy and power,” it reads.
ICT was also identified as one of the most corruption-affected sectors by its operational and technological novelty, it added.
The White Paper committee’s comment highlights years-long corruption allegations in the key sector the Awami League pledged to improve during the 2008 election for the sake of national progress.
And the story later frustrated the youth and technology experts due to huge waste of taxpayers’ money in improper projects. These lacked transparencies and were alleged to benefit people close to the then regime.
In the one and half decades of Sheikh Hasina’s ruling, the state spent nearly Tk29,000 crore to build “Digital Bangladesh” and later “Smart Bangladesh by 2041.”
Most of the funds were allocated to infrastructure projects, which still require justification from sector experts. For instance, Hi Tech parks outside major cities barely attracted investors.
Government-funded projects aimed at youth ICT training, women empowerment, and local app and game development, costing hundreds of crores of Taka, appear to have primarily benefited officials and their preferred vendors, reveals the gradually unfolding facts.
The interim government in August formed a committee to evaluate the ongoing projects already recommended to downsize them in lots of unjustified cases. It will also dig deeper to find the anomalies in the already finished projects.
In an example of how the government projects were being justified in questioned ways, the white paper mentioned a 2013-18 ICT Division project “Leveraging ICT for Growth, Employment, and Governance Projects” that had a 43% cost increase to Tk774 crore, from its original budget of Tk521.97 crore.
According to the White Paper, the large capacity-building initiative aimed to promote the IT sector and train 30,000 individuals for employment within it. The evaluation report from the Planning Ministry’s Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division showed strong satisfaction with the project’s success.
However, it overlooked the contributions of training institutions, colleges, and universities that also played a role in advancing the sector, the White Paper stated.
Additionally, the quality of the evaluation report was inadequate, as it failed to distinguish the marginal impacts of training 30,000 individuals on the entire IT sector.
This analytical weakness in assessing the project’s impacts has contributed to the continuation of various ICT and other projects that lack tangible benefits.
“It highlights the need for more robust evaluations to ensure that future initiatives are grounded in a clear understanding of their actual contributions to the sector,” said the White Paper.
Bangladesh lags behind many comparator countries in a number of technological indexes, despite the digital and smart nation narratives.
Tech
Corruption behind Tk 650bn investment in telecom, ICT sectors
Published
3 weeks agoon
December 3, 2024
ICT Advisor Nahid Islam has said due to ‘irregularities’, Bangladesh has not realised the full benefits of the ‘Digital Bangladesh’ initiative despite a substantial investment of Tk 650 billion in the telecommunications and ICT sectors under the Awami League government.
Speaking at an ADP review meeting at the Posts and Telecommunication Division on Monday, Nahid criticised the execution of numerous costly projects under the ‘Digital Bangladesh’ banner which, according to him, failed to deliver their promised impact.
From fiscal year 2010-11 to 2024-25, the ICT Division implemented projects worth Tk 250 billion, while the Posts and Telecommunications Division accounted for projects totaling Tk 400 billion.
Despite these investments, Bangladesh scored a modest 62 out of 100 in the June 2024 edition of the ICT Development Index by the United Nations International Telecommunication Union, trailing behind nations such as Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Vietnam, and Bhutan.
Highlighting the country’s technological lag, Nahid referenced the May 2024 Ookla Speedtest Global Index, where Bangladesh ranked 109th out of 147 countries in internet speed, below Kenya.
Also, Bangladesh placed 108th in broadband internet performance, with India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Rwanda, and Ghana all performing better.
In the realm of artificial intelligence, the IMF’s June 2024 Artificial Intelligence Preparedness Index placed Bangladesh 113th, again behind India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Rwanda, and Ghana.
The Digital Quality of Life Index 2023 by cybersecurity firm Surfshark saw Bangladesh drop five notches to 82nd among 121 countries, with internet speed 5 percent below the global average.
Rankings in the Key Government Index, e-security, and internet purchasing capacity were similarly below par.
Nahid also pointed out that Bangladesh lags in freelancing, ranked 29th among the top 30 global destinations, as per an April 2024 report by US-based CEOWORLD magazine, trailing behind India and Pakistan.
These indicators, according to Nahid, reflect not just the failure to enjoy the full benefits of digital initiatives but also suggest pervasive irregularities in the sector.
He criticised the frequent delays and the need for repeated extensions in project timelines, calling for more sensible proposals regarding extensions.
Nahid emphasised that timely and proper project completion could significantly propel the nation’s progress in internet and telecommunication sectors, benefitting all Bangladeshis.
The meeting disclosed that nine projects are currently underway within the four offices of the Posts and Telecommunications Division for the fiscal year 2024-25, involving entities such as Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited, or BTCL, Teletalk Bangladesh Limited, the Directorate of Posts, and Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC.
As of August 2024, national-level project progress for the fiscal year was reported at 1.02 percent, with the Posts and Telecommunications Division achieving a progress rate of 3.84 percent.
Tech
Web Summit to host hundreds of curated community meetups in Lisbon this November
Published
3 months agoon
September 13, 2024
Web Summit has announced today that it will host hundreds of curated community meetups in Lisbon this November, powered by its proprietary software, Summit Engine.
This initiative is part of Web Summit’s renewed mission to foster meaningful connections and communities. By bringing people with similar backgrounds, interests and objectives together in community meetups, Web Summit hopes to make the event feel smaller and more intimate for attendees, as it continues to grow and scale across the world. Hundreds of these community meetups will take place alongside signature challenging discussions on how technology is shaping the world.
So far, this year’s top speakers include Yinon C. (Yinon Costica), co-founder of cybersecurity powerhouse WIZ , which recently made waves by turning down a US$23 billion offer from Google; Julie De Moyer , LVMH ’s recently appointed chief data and AI officer; Lidiane Jones , CEO of popular dating app Bumble Inc. , which harnesses AI to improve matchmaking; Cristiano Anon, CEO of Qualcomm, the company working to create bigger, better, and more affordable AI chips; and Meredith Whittaker, president of encrypted messaging app Signal, which is fighting against government measures to scan citizen’s private messages.
Also taking to the stage will be Alibaba.com president Kuo Zhang ; Škoda Auto CMO Meredith Kelly; Amazon Web Services VP of AI Matt Wood ; Meta’s global head of consumer marketing, Eshan Ponnadurai; Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada, and much more. They will be joined, by world comms@websummit.com leaders and changemakers, including Germany’s Vice Chancellor, Robert Habeck; Portugal’s minister of youth and modernisation, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, and exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López.
Global tech companies, including IBM, Adobe, Intercom, Samsung Next, and Niantic Labs will exhibit on the floor alongside financial giants such as Visa and American Express. Other notable partners include Novo Nordisk, Bosch, EDP, and KPMG.
New for 2024: Hundreds of curated meetings
Of course, Web Summit isn’t just about the speakers – it’s about the connections. That’s why this November, our curated meetups, powered by Summit Engine, will bring together attendees with shared roles or interests in AI, fintech, crypto, food tech, sustainability, and more.
To do this, Web Summit’s data science team uses in-house software to group attendees who have common interests and backgrounds, helping uncover emerging communities. This technology was tested this year at Web Summit Rio in April, and at Collision in Toronto in June. From data scientists in Uruguay and food tech startup founders and investors to public sector AI innovators, Web Summit wants to make sure that the right people find each other at our events. Attendees can use the Web Summit app to easily connect and stay in touch with those they’ve met long after the event ends in November
“This is going to be our biggest but also our smallest event yet … we aim to host thousands of community meetups at the event and across Lisbon in November. We are evolving from being one large event to becoming a collection of a thousand deep, interconnected experiences,“ said Paddy Cosgrave .
“Over the last 15 years, the world has changed in many ways, and we’ve always been committed to adapting and re-evaluating our mission and goals to meet evolving challenges, ideas, and global circumstances. We’re currently in an especially charged moment in time,” Paddy continued.
“We are bigger than ever, but our mission remains the same – connecting the people, companies and ideas that change the word. Ultimately, the best event experience is when you walk away with a stronger network than you came with,” added SVP of product Brian Flanagan .
Just announced
The full list of speakers at Web Summit is being announced today:
● Lidiane Jones, CEO of Bumble
● Anastasis Germanidis , co-founder and CTO of Runway
● Meredith Kelly , CMO of Škoda Auto
● Sarah Myers West , co-executive chair of AI Now Institute
● Patrick Kluivert, former footballer with Barcelona and The Netherlands
● Paula Goldman , chief ethical and humane use officer at Salesforce
● Omar Berrada, CEO of Manchester United
● Hans Niemann , chess grandmaster
● Meredith Whittaker , president of Signal Messenger
● Munya Chawawa, actor and comedian
● Atul Bhardwaj j, chief digital and technical officer at the LEGO Group
● Smita Hashim , chief product officer at Zoom
● Alex Hirschi, founder of Supercar Blondie
New speakers are being added regularly on the Web Summit speaker page
About Web Summit:
Web Summit is a technology events company, bringing together a global community of founders, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and investors to connect and exchange ideas about the technology and trends shaping the world. Web Summit events – including Web Summit in Lisbon, Web Summit Rio in South America, Web Summit Qatar in the Middle East, and RISE in Asia – have gathered nearly one million people since Web Summit’s beginnings as a 150-person conference in Dublin in 2009. Its newest event, Web Summit Vancouver, will launch in May 2025.
Useful Links:
Web Summit website: https://websummit.com/
Web Summit Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/websummit/albums/
Web Summit YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJtkHqH4Qof97TSx7BzE5IQ