Speed Philippines – July 2019

COVER STORY

72 JULY 2019

Now, for those of you living under

a rock and have no idea what

my first paragraph was about,

here’s what you need to know:

News about Huawei Technologies

have been pouring for the past

few months, ever since the

Trump Administration effectively

banned Huawei with a national

security order. Things have been

confusing and alarming, with wild

speculations flying all around.

Such an unclear environment

nourishes mistakes and chaos.

Let’s break it down and hopefully

clear up the matter—without

drowning you in information

because trust us, there’s a lot

to uncover.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Last January 29, the United

States of America charged

Huawei Technologies with 23

indictments for alleged trade

secret theft and fraud. Then, on

May 15, U.S. President Trump

issued an Executive Order

stating that “foreign adversaries

are increasingly creating and

exploiting vulnerabilities in

information and communications

technology and services, which

store and communicate vast

amounts of sensitive information,

facilitate the digital economy,

and support critical infrastructure

and vital emergency services,

in order to commit malicious

cyber-enabled actions, including

economic and industrial

espionage against the United

States and its people.”

Effectively, Trump’s order banned

Huawei from U.S. communication

networks as well as banning

American firms (or companies

with U.S. technologies)

from selling products to

the company.

The order didn’t come out of

nowhere. As early as February

2018, FBI Director Chris Wray

warned against buying Huawei

phones. A few months later,

the Pentagon banned Huawei

(and ZTE) phones in U.S.

military bases.