Pompeo on Huawei: No Way
Jose Nino
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Thursday that the U.S. will not partner with or share information with countries using systems made by Chinese telecom powerhouse Huawei.
In an interview with Fox Business Network, Pompeo expanded:
“If a country adopts this and puts it in some of their critical information systems, we won’t be able to share information with them, we won’t be able to work alongside them.”
Pompeo also added that “we’re not going to put American information at risk.”
Reports also had Pompeo on record saying that the U.S. has been making efforts to have other countries “understand the risk of putting this Huawei technology into their IT systems.”
Pompeo capped this off saying that other countries will ultimately “make good decisions when they understand that risk.”
Huawei and other Chinese tech companies such as TikTok have faced increasing scrutiny for their data practices. The Trump administration, which banned the U.S. government’s use of Huawei products, has accused the tech company of working for the Chinese government and its ability to spy on U.S. citizens.
Trump’s accusations are not off base.
The current Chinese government under Xi Jinping has created an elaborate private-public partnership with its tech sector to carry out a massive censorship campaign. E-commerce giant Alibaba has already helped launch an app that boosts Xi Jinping’s cult of personality. With Huawei and TikTok expanding globally, the potential for censorship abuse and harmful data practices will only magnify.
The good news is that the Trump administration acknowledges the cybersecurity threat that China poses.
Instead of wasting time with Third World backwaters like Venezuela, it would behoove the Trump administration to start focusing on shoring up the U.S.’s cybersecurity defenses.
As China grows stronger, its cybersecurity delinquency will only increase.
The U.S. cannot afford to lag behind in the cybersecurity department any longer.
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