Most of the world's electronics are made in China...can we continue to trust our tools?

Most of the world's electronics are made in China...can we continue to trust our tools?
by Sebastian Anthony (RSS feed) Feb 6th 2010 at 2:00PM

I know, it's the story that never ends -- and really, don't expect it to end any time soon -- but here's another angle: what about Chinese hardware?

We now know that either the Chinese government, or a very large privately-funded clandestine operation from Asia, has been hacking Western governments, intelligence agencies, and businesses for a decade. What if the hardware they produce also has secret backdoors or comes pre-infested with trojan viruses?

The story on IT World lays down some pretty chilling precedents: did you know that Chinese intelligence agents approach business men at trade fairs in the UK and offer 'gifts' of digital cameras that come with viruses on them? What if the Chinese government has gotten to hardware manufacturers -- what if your Xbox 360 comes with a backdoor in it that lets them snoop on your home network? How about a chip on your motherboard or graphics card that phones home?

It's an interesting idea, made all the more scary because it's believable. For now, as far as we know, it's just espionage, an attack on governments and businesses -- but when will be the targets?

A vast amount of technology originates from China and Taiwan, and that's not going to stop soon -- if China's grasp is inescapable, why bother worrying?

And even then, is there even a way we can combat it?