China’s Use of Cyber Warfare: Huawei
Stakeholder Press Conference Exercise
Purpose: This exercise is designed to give you practical experience in handling real-life threats for their organization. Through this exercise, you will better understand how the types of events described in class are applied, take a shot at forming policy solutions, and sharpen your communication skills.
Deliverables: Prepare a sample press packet. This press packet should include the following items:
Press Release (1 page)
Short technical background sheet (1-2 pages)
• This section should describe in more detail the technical issues of the problem at hand. It may also include pictures and diagrams.
Frequently Asked Questions (1 page)
• This section should anticipate questions other stakeholders or the media would ask in response to the problem and should provide your organization’s answers.
Preparation:
Read the material found via the links below. Additional research on stakeholder positions is strongly suggested as well. You may use any resource you deem necessary to prepare your statement, press kit, and for Q&A.
Potential roles:
There are two important stakeholder roles in this cybersecurity crisis situation. You may choose to take on one of two different roles:
• Huawei
• International Governments
Scenario: There are several examples of cyber-attacks traceable to China which includes cyber intrusions on a nuclear arms laboratory, attacks on defense ministries (including the Joint Strike Fighter and an airbase) and the U.S. electric grid, as well as the current Google affair, which has proved to be a small part of a broader attack that also targeted the U.S. Government. There are, however, certain constraints that qualify the image of China as an aggressive actor in cyberspace. Some believe that China itself is the victim of just as many attacks from other states. Certain actors in the United States and the West have an interest in overestimating China’s capabilities in cyberspace in order to maintain their budgets.
The three reasons for cyber warfare are: deterrence through infiltration of critical infrastructure; military technological espionage to gain military knowledge; and industrial espionage to gain economic advantage.
The arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada has brought to light another vector in the cyberwars. It has to do with 5G, the new cellular standard coming online in 2019 and 2020.
The U.S. and members of their Five Eyes security alliance (Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and New Zealand) are attempting to block Huawei from installing equipment or from participating in the rollout of the new 5G networks in each country
Google is now restricting Huawei’s access to its Android operating system. In February 2019, NUKIB director Dusan Navratil, the head of the Czech cyber watchdog stated that Huawei and ZTE will be left out of more state tenders after the tax authority excluded them, which issued a recent security warning about the Chinese technology firms in December of 2018.
Your assignment is to explore these incidents further, using your research to present it from the perspective of your stakeholder. Your goal is to publish a press release which explains the controversy and your organization’s future plans or suggested policy changes in response to it.
Sources and Additional Reading:
1. What Is the Real 5G Security Risk? How the U.S. Government Sees It
2. 8 Steps Huawei Took to Steal IP from T-Mobile and Cover It Up
3. Huawei Driver Security Flaws: Innocent Mistake?
4. Google Restricts Huawei Access to Android
5. Cyberwar and 5G: The U.S. and Its Allies Take on Huawei
6. Cyberwar Flashback: Remembering the Huawei Hacks of Cisco and Nortel
