1/ Bombshell reporting by Dutch newspaper @volkskrant on @Huawei in the Netherlands.
In 2010, KPN commissioned a risk assessment on Huawei. The findings were so damning that KPN never made them public for fear that the company wouldn't survive.
➡️ Had unfettered access to KPN's network
➡️ Could eavesdrop on all conversations (including those of the PM)
➡️ Knew which numbers were monitored by police and intelligence services
➡️ Accessed the network core from China
There's more...
3/ Huawei also had full access to the personal info of KPN subsidiary Telfort's subscribers. Another investigation found that Huawei installed several ways to obtain this info and did so regularly.
Huawei refused to close down these exfil pathways after being confronted by KPN.
4/ One of the @volkskrant sources claims that KPN never conducted an investigation to determine what subscriber information was obtained by Huawei. nos.nl/artikel/237455…
5/ The Volkskrant has been doing investigative reporting on this issue for some time. Kudos to them. @HuaweiFacts
6/ NEW: @Huawei still manages the core of KPN’s network according to company insiders, contradicting the company’s official statements. @huibmodderkolk
“Sub-conclusion: @Huawei has uncontrolled and unauthorized access to the core of the KPN mobile network. Such uncontrolled and unauthorized access actually took place after 28 October, 2009.”
8/ Per @huibmodderkolk@volkskrant reporting, the Dutch intelligence agency AIVD warned KPN of the risks of dealing with Huawei. KPN proceeded anyway.
9/ Incredible how KPN swept these findings under rug. They acted out of pure self interest. No regard for their customers, their country, or the Netherlands' allies and partners.
10. Think of the damage: economic espionage, identifying and monitoring CCP critics and dissidents, insight into Dutch government deliberations, potential access to sensitive NATO infrastructure...
11/ News outlets outside the Netherlands are starting to pick up this story. I shared some initial thoughts with @MORGANMEAKER@Telegraph
12/ 👉 "Australian and British MPs who pressured Boris Johnson’s government to ban Huawei from the UK’s 5G network say they have been fully vindicated." smh.com.au/world/europe/h…
14/ Dutch broadcaster @AVROTROS news program @EenVandaag had a segment dissecting KPN's past security issues in the wake of the Huawei revelations. It's not a pretty picture.
15/ Dutch parliamentarians from across the political spectrum are requesting that State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy Mona Keijzer appear before the House of Representatives on 20 April to address the KPN-Huawei revelations. computable.nl/artikel/nieuws…
16/ NEW: The Dutch government's Telecom Agency is launching an investigation into the #KPN-#Huawei revelations reported by @volkskrant.
"The safety and integrity of our tcom networks are of the greatest import for our society and our economy"
US intelligence officials gave an overview of foreign (i.e., Russia, China, Iran) election interference efforts today. Here are key points:
"Tehran and Moscow maintain their same Presidential preferences as in past cycles, whereas Iranian operatives are attempting to tear down the Republican ticket while Russia has made efforts to smear the Democrats, according to prior intelligence community assessments."
"In the past, Russia and Iran have tried employing actual Americans in their operations through false front companies and third party websites. Doing so provides them with cover and offers a more authentic voice, another official explained."
The hidden hand of the CCP: Of 650 Chinese investments in Europe since 2010, roughly 40% have high or moderate involvement by state-owned or state-controlled companies, according to @datenna research.
🧵 wsj.com/articles/behin…
"In many of the European mergers and acquisitions, Chinese state influence was effectively hidden by layers of ownership, complex shareholding structures and deals executed via European subsidiaries, @datenna found." 2/7 wsj.com/articles/behin…
"European officials increasingly worry this leaves companies exposed to unwanted foreign influence, loss of critical innovations and an erosion of cutting-edge industries." 3/7
ICYMI Commerce U/S Alan Estevez @BISgov@CommerceGov joined me @CNASdc this morning to talk about the new chip export controls.
Important remarks and new insight. Check out the full discussion here 👇. Press coverage in 🧵 1/ cnas.org/events/special…
"The United States could extend the powerful export restrictions it has issued on China to areas like biotechnology and the algorithms that power artificial intelligence." @AnaSwanson@nytimes 2/ nytimes.com/2022/10/27/bus…
Photonics for semiconductors effort launched in the Netherlands. Textbook promote/protect strategy. There's a lot going on here, so let's unpack this in a short 🧵 h/t @DUhockeyFan bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Let's start with the title of the article, which is a bit misleading. The goal for the effort is for the Netherlands to be at the leading edge in this technology. That doesn't have to mean a single company dominating the way ASML does in EUV lithography. 2/
The initiative creates a new agency PhotonDelta that will fund 200 startups and help to scale up 26 established firms. This is a sensible portfolio approach and should avoid the pitfall of 'picking winners and losers'. 3/
1) Sending large delegations to the UN and 2) changing the UN system from within - my @cnasds colleague @kristinejlee27 has written extensively on this. Here is her excellent report on the topic: (2/x) cnas.org/publications/r…
3) Financial support to third countries, such as through BRI and Digital Silk Road (3/x) cnas.org/publications/r…
1/ Investigation shows at least 29 researchers from China's National University of Defense Technology conducted militarily-relevant research at Delft University of Technology, one of the world's top tech universities.
3/ The article goes on to note that Chinese researchers are sought after by Dutch universities because they are moneymakers. Their salaries were covered by NUDT and the Dutch government pays the university to host each researcher.