[phishfi]

I'm so torn with how to see Huawei. The dealings with Iran seem pretty cut and dry, and the laws in China are impossible for Huawei to ignore. On the other hand, their consumer products are very different from the commercial routing and telecommunication branches. Yet, the high level US government folks are being forced not to use the consumer products. Why aren't they being prohibited from using other Chinese consumer electronics, like Lenovo, Xiaomi, etc?

[clouddrover]

> Why aren't they being prohibited from using other Chinese consumer electronics, like Lenovo, Xiaomi, etc?

I suppose it depends which "approved devices" list you're using. If I look at the US Department of Defense's approved products list I see Korean brands like LG and Samsung but I don't see Lenovo or Xiaomi:

https://aplits.disa.mil/processAPList.action

[herewulf]

I've done some consulting for a company fulfilling a defense contract and they had to switch their entire desktop anti-virus solution because they were using foreign made software and DISA was not happy about it. The origin of hardware/software is very much a concern for the US gov't.

[SyneRyder]

There is a ban on Lenovo products. From 2013, regarding a ban imposed since approx 2005:

"Chinese PC maker Lenovo has reportedly been banned from supplying equipment for the "secret" and “top secret” networks of many intelligence agencies, due to concerns its products are vulnerable to being hacked." ... "The ban is only thought to apply to the most highly restricted networks, and Lenovo remains a significant supplier of computers for “unclassified” government networks in these countries."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10208578/Spy-age...

(That said, I have a Lenovo X1 Thinkpad, bought partly because of all the recommendations on HN, and in particular seeing Troy Hunt using Lenovo. I'd forgotten that article when I bought it.)

[phishfi]

I'm talking about the report from a few weeks ago banning top level government officials from using Huawei devices for personal use. At the time, they were considering banning them for all military members as well... But there was no mention of any other Chinese manufacturers. The only other one that's been in the news lately is ZTE.

[torgian]

Exactly. It comes down to politics