The Morgan Doctrine: China, I wouldn't even take a FREE Huawei cell phone or tablet

Friday, February 11, 2011

China, I wouldn't even take a FREE Huawei cell phone or tablet

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal story about the U.S. government Committee on Foreign Investment reviewing, and likely to recommend reversing, the Huawei 3Leaf Systems acquisition leads me to believe that the feds aren't as stupid as I thought they were. Time will tell, however, if (a) the feds make the right recommendation, and (b) if we do indeed reverse the transaction.

China, they way you've been attacking my Linux server, I wouldn't trust you with any control over my infrastructure or with the supply chain of my infrastructure. Which is why I'm amazed at the announcement that Huawei is going to be introducing both a cell phone and a slim tablet at next week's Mobile World Congress show in Spain. Guys, I don't care how many colors it comes in, I'm not buying a phone that could conceivably be hot miked, twinned, or give you punks a back door into my address book. Ditto for the tablet. And I'll be taking a darned close look at the supply chain of computer components for any future electronics purchases.

Adam Smith's invisible hand may turn into a fist, as far as China is concerned. Until they start behaving like responsible world citizens (among my more notable posts are the IP addresses of their attack servers, how China/Russia could be behind attacks on our financial institutions, and the data bombs China and Russia are installing on our utility infrastructures), they do not deserve a place at the technology table.

This isn't jingoism or profiling. It's just plain common sense. So shape up, China. I wouldn't take a computer or cell phone from you if you were giving them away. This brings to mind an ad I did for Larry Ellison at Oracle in 1989. We heard Digital Equipment Corporation was going to start shipping their Rdb database free with every VAX computer. Since VAX was Oracle's bread and butter platform, we quickly drove a stake into their heart with the following ad (within a year, DEC abandoned Rdb to Oracle):

So to my Chinese friends, at least for today, I wouldn't take a Huawei cell phone, tablet, or computer even if you were giving them away. You're going to have to earn my trust.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Implementation suggestions for THE MORGAN DOCTRINE are most welcome. What are the "Got'chas!"? What questions would some future Cyber Privateering Czar have to answer about this in a Senate confirmation hearing?

Background: Welcome black hats, white hats and cyber swashbucklers

The Revolutionary War was fought, financed, and pretty well WON by bonded privateers, legalized pirates who were given Letters of Marque and Reprisal by the Continental Congress and authorized to attack, capture and monetize British ships. The purpose of this site is to explore the possibility of a modern-day doctrine much like the Monroe Doctrine, by means of which the U.S. government could legally and, more importantly, effectively stop international hackers. Current cybercrime law is not only ineffective, but downright stupid. My Linux servers are attacked hundreds of times a day (mostly from China and former USSR domains), yet if I retaliate against those servers with some creative technology at my disposal (I know some VERY smart guys), then I am in violation of federal law and subject to some onerous penalties. We need more than a new law. We need a new international doctrine. I call it The Morgan Doctrine, named after Morgan Rapier, a fictional character I've created (hey, this is my way of establishing ownership of the concept, should it ever see the light of day).

Why a new international doctrine? Simply, nothing else will work. Introduced on December 2, 1823, the Monroe Doctrine told the world to keep their hands off the Americas. Combine this with current legal thinking on "hot pursuit" of fugitives. In 1917 the US Army went into Mexico after Pancho Villa. More recently, in 1960 Israeli Mossad agents abducted Adolf Eichmann from Argentina. Granted, much of the world regards the Eichmann adventure as a violation of international law. I don't share that opinion and therefore use it as the third leg of my Monroe-Pancho-Aldof platform for The Morgan Doctrine.

If someone comes into your home and attacks or attempts to rob you, you may shoot them dead. You may do so as long as they expire on your property. But what about cyber criminals? They attack you in your home from their homes. Retaliate in kind, and you go to jail. The Morgan Doctrine states simply that if you attack my computers (or my banking assets held in US-based computers), then under a certain set of well-defined conditions, a licensed and bonded "cyber privateer" may attack you in your home country and split the proceeds with the U.S. government. For the sake of argument, let's call it a 50-50 split (heh heh).

Right now, American law enforcement is completely unequipped to deal with the sheer number international cyber hackers. Sure, I could report each of the thousand daily attacks to the FBI, as could the millions of other attackees in the USA. But the volume of such reports would make any meaningful resolution laughable. Not to mention that the FBI has no jurisdiction outside the USA. Yet to make such "enforcement" profitable to recognized (ie, "bonded" "deputized") privateers, as Heath Ledger's Joker said in his last role, "Now you're talking!" You raid our bank accounts, we raid yours. You make money from off-shore child pornography, we're going to loot your bank accounts and, with some REALLY creative black hat operations, you will be taken off the grid worldwide to the extent that you'll not even complete a cell phone conversation for the remainder of your miserable depraved life. Okay, that last part probably won't fly, but you get my drift.

The purpose of this site is to explore the mechanics, legalities and practicality of The Morgan Doctrine.

And I will be the sole arbiter of whether or not your comments get posted. As Mel Brooks wrote, "It's good to be king."