What is going on here?

China has now required companies whose products feature security elements to disclose those elements to the Chinese government.

To which I reply: screw you! Didn’t you steal or purchase enough information in your ongoing efforts to penetrate American corporate and military secrets?

It should be remembered that China is ONLY a convenient trading partner of the United States. They are not our friends and they certainly do not wish us well. And while they benefit greatly from our technology, the line at which our corporations and military hands over security secrets to the Chinese government must be drawn.

If they want to play domestic trade games, let them live with a 100% inspection of container goods at our ports.

From the Associated Press…

China irks US with computer security review rules

“ The Chinese government is stirring trade tensions with Washington with a plan to require foreign computer security technology to be submitted for government approval, in a move that might require suppliers to disclose business secrets.”

“Rules due to take effect May 1 require official certification of technology widely used to keep e-mail and company data networks secure. Beijing has yet to say how many secrets companies must disclose about such sensitive matters as how data-encryption systems work.”

“But Washington complains the requirement might hinder imports in a market dominated by U.S. companies, and is pressing Beijing to scrap it.”

“Beijing tried earlier to force foreign companies to reveal how encryption systems work and has promoted its own standards for mobile phones and wireless encryption.”

Suppress your own people, but do it with your own technology …

“Those attempts and the new demand reflect Beijing's unease about letting the public keep secrets, and the government's efforts to use its regulatory system to help fledgling Chinese high-tech companies compete with global high-tech rivals. Yin Changlai, the head of a Chinese business group sanctioned by the government, has acknowledged that the rules are meant to help develop China's infant computer security industry by shielding companies from foreign rivals that he said control 70 percent of the market.”

“The computer security rules cover 13 types of hardware and software, including database and network security systems, secure routers, data backup and recovery systems and anti-spam and anti-hacking software. Such technology is enmeshed in products sold by Microsoft Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and other industry giants.”

And what does China plan to do about all of the stolen software that is being used by Chinese nationals. In fact, weren’t they the ones that screamed the loudest when Microsoft started checking licensed software for authenticity before allowing access to all software features?

“Giving regulators the power to reject foreign technologies could help to promote sales of Chinese alternatives. But that might disrupt foreign manufacturing, research or data processing in China if companies have to switch technologies or move operations to other countries to avoid the controls. Requiring disclosure of technical details also might help Beijing read encrypted e-mail or create competing products.”

Yah think?

"I think there's both a national security goal and an industrial policy goal to this," said Scott Kennedy, an Indiana University professor who studies government-business relations in China. ‘I'm sure before they came out with this, there was a discussion with industry and industry probably was giving them lots of requests about what should be included.’"

“The agency that will enforce the rules, the China Certification and Accreditation Administration, said in a written statement they are meant to protect national security and ‘advance industry development.’ But it did not respond to questions about what information companies must disclose and how foreign technology will be judged.”

Boycott manufacturers that comply …

United States corporations and financial institutions have no other option than to boycott manufacturers who comply with Chinese rules. Otherwise, the ongoing cyber-warfare between the Chinese government, their hackers and United States institutions will be escalated with our enemies having greater access our secured systems.

We have already seen examples of attacks on our infrastructure which originated in China – enough is enough!

It was bad enough that we found distributors selling bogus Chinese CISCO routers – which were then found in some sensitive areas, but accepting this Chinese administrative demand for security information is sheer madness.

Unfortunately, some members of the far-left and those who succumb to greed will be stumbling all over themselves to provide this information, officially and unofficially. Let us treat those who supply the information unofficially as spies and traitors. Boycott the others.

What can YOU do?

Demand that the Administration officials rebuff this request on a national basis and instruct companies to withhold critical or sensitive information.

Toughen the penalties for industrial espionage and if that espionage involves a foreign national, invoke the maximum penalty for spying: a life term without the possibility of parole.

Do not purchase computers or software from companies which willingly cooperate with Chinese requests for information on security processes.

-- steve

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

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China irks US with computer security review rules