China hack story doing the rounds
The story that's doing the rounds today is how China used a tiny chip to infiltrate US companies.
It's no coincidence.
This is one of many stories you should be expecting to read in the months ahead about how China is competing unfairly. In late September, Axios published a report that almost no one saw. It was about how the White House was planning an administration-wide information campaign against China.
"Administration officials will call out China for its "malign activity" in cyberattacks, election interference and industrial warfare (e.g., intellectual property theft), an administration source told me," the report says.
Remember one thing: China isn't the only one doing this. Everyone is. Snowden reveals that the US does the same thing.
I have absolutely no doubt that all the major US tech companies allow for US officials to put in back doors for spying. In turn, US officials pass them trade secrets. It's how the US tech sector dominates.
China is trying to do the same thing:
"One government official says China's goal was long-term access to high-value corporate secrets and sensitive government networks. No consumer data is known to have been stolen," Bloomberg reports.
This story was obviously leaked by top officials and it's part of this campaign. What's going to happen is that the White House will increasingly get people whipped up about China hacks and whatever else China is doing. That will be used to escalate the trade war, or whatever it is that the China hawks in the White House want to do.
Just now, Mike Pence is on the wires talking about Chinese theft of American technology. This is all very coordinated.
The question you should be asking is: Where does this lead? In a year or two anti-China sentiment in the US will be much higher than it is today. Is this just about extracting a better trade deal? Or is the aim to curb Chinese growth?
