Computers manufactured by the world’s biggest personal computer maker, Lenovo, have been banned from the “secret” and ”top secret” networks of the intelligence and defence services of Australia, the US, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand, because of concerns they are vulnerable to being hacked.
Multiple intelligence and defence sources in Britain and Australia confirmed there is a written ban on computers made by the Chinese company being used in “classified” networks.
The ban was introduced in the mid-2000s after intensive laboratory testing of its equipment allegedly documented “back-door” hardware and “firmware” vulnerabilities in Lenovo chips. A Department of Defence spokesman confirmed Lenovo products have never been accredited for Australia’s secret or top secret networks.
Update: As I expected, there’s lots of fact checking going on in the comments. Go read ’em.
h/t Max
Shocking! The Chinese are using their hegemony in hardware manufacturing to install backdoors? It’s a good thing Microsoft never built backdoors into Windows for the NSA…
Yas indeedy, to say nothing of HP, Intel and AMD. Back doors in hardware, shocking!
You mean the Chi-coms are using backdoors in their computors to access classified top secret info? But I thought that was the IRS’ job! Damn yanks can’t get anything right.
You can close the comments. The first 3 pretty much say everything that needs saying!
That’s just it. Anybody who buys anything electronic from China better expect that there’s some sort of backdoor in it. The Microsoft story may be apocryphal, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was true. Given recent US government escapades I can’t say that their government wouldn’t but I’d hope Microsoft, IBM and all would put up something of a fight. Can anyone see a Chinese company saying no? So, if you think the NSA is bad, wait until Huawei starts mining your phone for your sextapades…
About 5 yrs ago I remember reading that the US debt had reached the level where the debt payments to China were completely covering the Red Army`s payroll.
The reality of a free and powerful west was traded in a long time ago by both self-interested Dem and Rep parties for short-term political gains.
Sadly, this practice continues unabated today with a useless press and divided partisan morons gladly enabling them.
The Chinese have been stealing our technology for so long, it comes as no surprise.
They still are communists after all. Governments have forgotten that for the most part.
The rat said: “Anybody who buys anything electronic from China better expect that there’s some sort of backdoor in it.”
-cough- Apple! -cough-
Mickeysoft by the way has -admitted- to “working with the NSA”. As have Google and Intel and Apple and all the other big US names. Also the big Euro firms that sell in the USA. Its in the Intertubes.
Yeah well, it’s sorta like lighting up the wrong end on yer smoke………. tastes like crap…….
I take that back…never tasted crap….but I suspect it won’t taste like burnin’ plastic…….
The rumble I get is that a used Lenova is a lot bettere than a used Del…..probably made in China too…….
Australia uses “air gaps”, shit I was about 20 years ahead of them when I told my SIL, “you don’t want some one to access it, don’t have it on a computer that’s wired to the net”
as to the reference to a DIOD, the schumk writing that is ignorant of facts
and I’ll bet every operating system/software has a back door, or a soft spot in it
as to the bigs and NSA, bet they fought to help spy on ppl
Yet, if this is true, the opportunity was there for the
“feature” to be twisted and spoofed to create all kinds
of useless make work and false trails for the Red Chinese.
“… Anybody who buys anything electronic from China better expect that there’s some sort of backdoor in it. …”
From China? I don’t know how to build hardware (I can assemble components, of course,) or write software, so I assume anything electronic from anyone, anywhere, could have some sort of backdoor in it. I wouldn’t make for anyone or sell to anyone tools or weapons that I can’t disable, defeat, or overmatch with tools or weapons I keep for myself. This precaution certainly doesn’t keep me invincible, but since I must come to my end eventually, somehow, at least I won’t have to face the foolishness of having engineered it myself for my enemies’ benefit.
“Lenovo, have been banned from the “secret” and ”top secret” networks of the intelligence and defence services of Australia, the US, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand,”
The governments of ‘The Anglosphere’ have been acting as though they are PRC collaborators for many decades now.
These built in ‘back doors’ are how China has been using our computers for massive DOS attacks for quite awhile.
With the numbers of Chinese spies who live in the Anglosphere and are given sensitive security jobs in the name of multiculturalism and pluralism, the accusation of manufacture implanted ‘back doors’ for the purpose of hacking is ludicrous.
Our governments are giving it away, they are traitorous.
Considering this trend, it makes me wonder if the constant hate-on for Blackberry is more political than anything.
Lenovo is the company that ended up with IBM’s PC line when they got out of the PC business. IBM still owns a piece of Lenovo.
IBM…wasn’t there something way back when about them helping another enemy to compute some such thing or another? Nazis or sumthin’? I can’t recall, nothing important I’m sure.