The United States' 'Eight Diamonds' Cannot Be Undefended

The New York Times reported that the United States agreed to hold high-level talks about the strengthening of Internet network security and combating industrial espionage. The talks will begin in July of this year.

In recent years, the United States has frequently brandished a large stick at China concerning Internet security. Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Intelligence released a report that called Huawei and ZTE’s products a threat to U.S. national security. This year, President Obama signed a spending bill that prohibits the Department of Justice, the Department of Commerce, NASA and federal government agencies, including the FBI, from purchasing from “Chinese-owned or operated subsidies to companies manufacturing, processing or assembly of IT products.” This highlights the interference with marketplace freedom by the U.S. government in the interest of national security.

With a number of Chinese companies now suffering from the block in the U.S., Cisco is now the representative for the “Eight Diamonds” — Cisco, IBM, Google, Qualcomm, Intel, Apple, Oracle and Microsoft — in China’s rise. As the data proves, Cisco is the backbone of China’s Telecom Network, holding about 73 percent of the shares of 163 backbone nodes and most of the common and core nodes. In the financial sector, the commercial bank data centers for China’s four major banks in each city use Cisco equipment. Cisco took possession of the financial industry, with more than 70 percent of the share; in customs, public security, armed police, business, education and other government agencies, Cisco’s share is more than 50 percent; in the railway system, Cisco’s share is about 60 percent; in civil aviation and air traffic control the networks’ backbones are all made of Cisco devices; at airports, docks and ports, Cisco occupies more than a 60 percent share; in the petroleum, manufacturing, light engineering and tobacco industries, Cisco’s share is more than 60 percent, and many businesses and organizations use only Cisco equipment; in the Internet industry, Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, Sina and in other top 20 Internet companies, Cisco equipment accounts for about 60 percent of shares; and in the television and media industry, Cisco’s share is up to more than 80 percent.

An information security expert said, “As the world’s second largest economy, China is almost naked, already armed to the teeth, standing before America’s ‘Eight Diamonds.’ In times of crisis, the United States’ Eight Diamonds may become a hazard for China, no less than the burning of the Summer Palace during the Boxer Rebellion.” This would be especially damaging towards Cisco. First, “Cisco is not the same as Google or Microsoft. Cisco’s territory is mainly in the field of network infrastructure, which is the lifeblood of the entire network.” Second, Cisco has a close relationship with the U.S. government and military; they are among the main designers of the U.S. “Cyber Storm” series of exercises. Third, Cisco products have already fully permeated China’s telecommunications, finance, petroleum, chemical and other industries, providing critical information infrastructure related to people’s livelihood.

The seriousness of the problem lies in the fact that the Eight Diamonds have generally adopted China’s tactic for seeking agents rather than forming a “community of interests” and exploiting their enormous influence, including the “achievement mentality” of officials at all levels in a variety of conditions and the formation of the Chinese government at all levels; acting in an unguarded or even welcoming manner is a direct result of the Eight Diamonds and the concern over the core hub sites of people’s livelihood.

Faced with this grim situation, I propose three aspects: First, the United States needs to study. Relevant departments must unite with Huawei, ZTE and other enterprises in the United States to figure out how the U.S. will handle this situation and what the legal basis for the “national information infrastructure and business-critical network core products substitution strategy” is as soon as possible. Second is to improve relevant laws and regulations. China’s “Government Procurement Law” and “Bidding Law,” developed in 2001, have not only lagged behind the rapidly changing Internet era, but these two laws’ definition of government procurement of domestic products is vague. This [issue] needs to be revised quickly. Third, the use of source code hosting and a chief security system need to be adopted. Source code hosting is used in many countries as the regulatory approach to information security. In addition, the establishment of chief security officers in large-scale enterprises is common practice in the world. The chief security officer can both accept leadership of national security agencies and, when it comes to large purchases in the security field, have ultimate veto power.