Strand Consult launches new website ChinaTechThreat.com to focus on cybersecurity challenges and how they affect the telecom and other industries

There is increasing focus on the use of Chinese equipment in telecommunications networks in the West and associated security threats. In 2018, Huawei invited political scrutiny in the process for operators to upgrade their 2G/3G/4G mobile networks to a combination of 4G and 5G. Strand Consult believes that this debate is more complex than the role of a single company or technology and published this research note The debate about network security is more complex than Huawei. Look at Lenovo laptops and servers and the many other devices connected to the internet.

Cybersecurity threats will increase cost for telecommunications sector.
Cybersecurity is increasingly important and demands greater attention. It costs real money to build resilience into products and services, and it is important to have an transparent discussion about the costs and tradeoffs for cybersecurity with other political goals. Just as the financial sector has incurred huge costs for managing regulatory compliance around the world, the telecommunications sector will be hit by similar costs to ensure the security of networks, products, and services. As governments require online platforms to monitor and remove certain kinds of content, governments will require the telecommunications sector to police networks for cybersecurity threats. The telecommunications sector will bear an increased burden to address the security threats, many of which fall into the category of national defense. Operators should be recognized for their efforts.

Security and resilience are important.
It is rational to investigate the security and resilience of the products and services we use. Given the interconnected nature of digital technologies, it is not just the networks themselves that are in question, but the devices attached to them and the services that run across them. People, machines, and devices connect digitally, and society increasingly depends on the Internet. In the race to realize this digital society, there has been limited scrutiny to China’s role across the information technology supply chain. While intelligence agencies and security analysts around the world have highlighted the technological threats, the appetite for products and services made from companies with connections to the Chinese government and military grows.

Strand Consult has launched ChinaTechThreat.com
Strand Consult has launched a new website ChinaTechThreat.com to help make sense of these and related issues. While cyber threats stem from many countries, the overwhelming perpetrator is China. It is important to focus on China because for the following reasons:

1. Information technology equipment is largely developed and manufactured in China.
2. Western companies working in and with China operate under unfair and unsafe conditions, if not illegal per international treaties. Notably Chinese companies receive far better treatment in the West than Western companies receive in China.
3. The process to review the safety and security of IT products and services is insufficient, and even with increased resources, it will be impossible to detect all the threats.
4. The Chinese government and their associated entities conduct business with a set of practices antithetical to Western laws, protections for civil liberties, and norms of free and fair competition.
5. Fortunately, efforts to address Chinese security threats will also strengthen the ability of nations and firms to protect against threats from other countries.

Strand Consult’s new website ChinaTechThreat.com gathers Strand Consult’s research on the topic and related materials from other experts to better understand this complex issue and to bring transparency to its drivers.

Visit the website: ChinaTechThreat.com

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