Educating the public and policymakers about the threats to personal privacy, data security and national security from Chinese technology and telecommunications firms is the main mission of China Tech Threat. Luckily, we are not alone in pursuing this endeavor. Several other sites provide essential information on the threats from Huawei and other Chinese state-owned and supported enterprises.
Huawei Risk Tracker provides real time alerts on “risk events” involving Huawei and other legal and policy developments directed at the company. There are also detailed reports that analyze the risk exposure and strategic penetration of countries and industries across the west. The infographic below is especially helpful in illustrating Huawei’s “global track record of predatory behavior, accusations and risk.”
The Business & Human Rights Resource Center is not specifically focused on Huawei or Chinese technology companies, but tracks abuses by over 9,000 companies worldwide. However, not surprisingly, the site highlights numerous Chinese companies. Those who scan the site will find a trove of information on Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo and TikTok; these companies’ practices deserve all the scrutiny they receive here.
The State Department’s page on 5G outlines current U.S. policy on 5G development and debunks many of the myths Huawei attempts to push to receptive or misinformed audiences in the west. Featured is an informative three-page document, “Huawei: Myth vs. Fact.” It succinctly debunks the falsehoods peddled by the company and its apologists and echoes many of points made by China Tech Threat over the past year. For example, it points out how “Huawei equipment can be easily replaced over time” and “countries should not rush to failure when alternatives to Huawei are available.” The reality is that “existing Huawei 4G can be replaced over time during normal lifecycle maintenance” and the cost of actually ‘ripping and replacing’ Huawei equipment is vastly overstated. Here, the State Department aligns with Strand Consult, which issued a report in September that concluded the cost to replace non-upgradeable Huawei equipment in Europe at $3.5 billion – not the $62 billion cited by the company.
Huawei’s claims about its relevance to 5G have been taken at face value by too many. Hopefully this continued pushback will shift the consensus in favor of further restricting Chinese-manufactured equipment into western networks.