How the Huawei ban could become a security threat | TECH(feed)

Hey everyone welcome back to tech feed i’m juliet beauchamp. Today, i’ve got more on huawei–i’ve already discussed how the proposed huawei ban could be bad for business. This time let’s talk about why the huawei ban could be bad for security. Stick around.

You may remember that google warned the trump administration that the huawei ban could lead to some devices becoming insecure. That’s because, under the ban, google is barred from sending updates to its android o-s to huawei devices. And google warns that, without android support, huawei may release a less-secure operating system.

Now, there’s reports that suggest huawei has been working on its own operating system for years. But, in the wake of this ban, it may rush to roll it out as the company prepares for life without google. And google says that cutting off consumers from its platform isn’t in anyone’s best interest. This ban was launched to allegedly to keep the united states secure–but it could leave millions vulnerable.

Now you can’t have a conversation about huawei and the united states without noting a few things. First off, huawei smartphones aren’t terribly popular in the u-s. So even though google will have to cut off its android support at the request of the u-s government, most united states smartphone users won’t be affected. That being said, no matter how small the number, there will still be huawei devices connecting to american networks. And if they’re using a new, potentially insecure o-s, that’s a security risk. And it’s possible users in more huawei-friendly countries will be hesitant to use an unfamiliar operating system.

Second, even though most huawei consumers are not u-s based, this ban is already affecting the company’s sales. Huawei’s chief executive predicts lower-than-usual sales for the next two years as a result of this u-s campaign against the company. I’ve seen a lot of your comments saying that huawei will do just fine without american markets. And if this ban only affected u-s sales, i would completely agree. But what’s important to consider is u-s influence. The united states is obviously an incredibly powerful country. And if it’s going to ban its most powerful companies from working with chinese enterprises, there will be global consequences.

So what security strategy should the united states use instead of cutting huawei off from all u-s business? Well, some people suggest a risk management approach. Cutting off all huawei tech from the united states would be a near impossible task–analyzing and minimizing potential risk is more realistic. And hey–there’s always the possibility that this ban won’t actually happen if president trump negotiates it away during trade talks with china.

Thanks for watching this episode of tech feed. If you liked this video be sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel. It’s been great to see all your feedback on my previous huawei videos–let me know your opinions on how the huawei ban will affect security. If, you know, it lasts much longer. See you next time.

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