Huawei Scandal

For my STAT blog, I will be discussing the implications of the Huawei data scandal.


Huawei, a massive technology conglomerate founded in the port city of Shenzhen, China, by an avowed member of the communist party, has been recently barred from providing 5G technology to the United States and Australia. The main fears of these nations is the habitual misuse of data by China, which acts as a surveillance state. China operates on a "Social Credit" system, where the actions and habits of Chinese citizens are constantly monitored, gauging their compatibility with Chinese society.


The social credit system is used to bar citizens from travel, employment, and housing. The technology is based on massive stores of data from corporations such as Tencent and Huawei. These corporations are viewed with extreme suspicion in the United States. The history of cyber espionage is not new either, China has been accused of stealing United States military technology on more than one occasion, once stealing the plans for the new F-35 fighter jet. Well known mobile networks, such as Verizon and AT&T have since stopped carrying Huawei's tech, fearing that the mobile phones themselves are an opportunity for the company to bloat its data reserves.

Furthermore, several arrests have been made in Canada, including the daughter of the founder, and the CFO of Huawei. These arrest were made on behalf of the United States government, increasing tension between the USA and China. Hesitation in adopting the new 5G technologies is an important step in fighting cyber crime, as the new technologies sponsored by Huawei are directly linked to a regime of data thieves. 5G networking provides an even better oppurtunity for Huawei to steal data, as more and more consumer technology, including mobile phones and even automobiles, becomes linked to an expanding grid of information.