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Five things to know in the case of Huawei's Meng
by Staff Writers
Shanghai (AFP) Jan 16, 2020

Germany investigates three over 'spying for China'
Frankfurt Am Main (AFP) Jan 15, 2020 - German prosecutors on Wednesday said they were investigating three people who allegedly spied for China, with media reporting that a German former EU diplomat was among the suspects.

"We can confirm an investigation into suspected espionage" for Chinese state security bodies, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office told AFP.

Der Spiegel weekly said one of the suspects was a German diplomat who worked at the European Commission in Brussels before serving several stints as ambassador for the European Union in foreign countries.

The other two were reportedly lobbyists employed by a "well-known Germany lobby firm".

Prosecutors refused to provide details about the suspects and said no arrests have been made.

But they confirmed the information in Der Spiegel that police were on Wednesday raiding homes and offices linked to the trio in Berlin, Brussels and the German states of Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg.

According to Spiegel, prosecutors accuse the former diplomat and one of the lobbyists of "sharing private and commercial information with the Chinese ministry for state security".

The third suspect apparently only indicated "a willingness to do so".

The diplomat at the centre of the probe reportedly ended his EU career in 2017 and switched to working for a lobbying firm, where he then recruited the two other suspects.

The spying is alleged to have started that same year.

If the allegations are confirmed, it would be a rare case of Chinese espionage being uncovered.

"Although there is always much talk about large-scale Chinese spying operations in Germany and Europe, investigators are rarely successful against Beijing's secret services," Spiegel wrote.

A spokeswoman for the European Commission declined to comment directly on the Spiegel report, but told AFP that the Commission was "ready to cooperate with national authorities conducting investigations that may implicate former staff members."

- Huawei tensions -

The probe comes at a time of intense debate in Europe's top economy about whether or not to exclude Chinese tech giant Huawei from developing Germany's 5G mobile networks.

Critics, led by Washington, say Huawei is too close to Beijing and its equipment could be used as a tool for spying -- an allegation Huawei strongly denies.

US President Donald Trump has already ordered American firms to cease doing business with market leader Huawei, and has urged allies to follow suit.

Australia and Japan have also taken steps to bar or tightly restrict the firm's participation in their 5G networks.

Germany so far has resisted pressure to ban Huawei.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has instead said Berlin would insist on stringent security requirements without barring individual companies.

China is a crucial trading partner for Germany, but concerns have mounted in recent years over a spike in Chinese investments in German firms.

The buying spree has fuelled fears of vital German knowhow and technology being sold off to Beijing, prompting the government to tighten restrictions on foreign takeovers.

Also on Wednesday, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported that the Chinese embassy was allegedly planning to improve China's image in Germany using funds from the private sector.

The newspaper claimed that ambassador Wu Ken had written to major German companies in December, asking them to help finance a project to promote a "better picture" of China in the German media.

Hearings into whether a Huawei executive can be extradited to the United States will begin on January 20 in Vancouver, in a case with potential repercussions for ties between the US, China and Canada.

Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of the Chinese telecom giant and daughter of its founder Ren Zhengfei, was detained in the Canadian city on a US warrant in late 2018.

Her arrest put the 47-year-old at the centre of the US and China's battle over Huawei's growing global reach.

Here are five things to know about the situation:

- Technology giant -

Founded by former People's Liberation Army (PLA) engineer Ren in 1987, Huawei has grown into one of the world's biggest technology firms.

It is now the top producer of telecommunications networking equipment and the number-two supplier of smartphones, behind Samsung and ahead of Apple.

Huawei equipment carries much of the planet's data and communications traffic, making it a key player in the coming advent of hyper-fast 5G networks, which will enable revolutionary new technologies such as artificial intelligence.

- Distrust in Washington -

Ren's military background and privately held Huawei's opaque culture have long fuelled suspicions of close ties to China's one-party security state.

This has stoked US fears that Beijing could use the firm as a Trojan horse for espionage or cyber-attacks, accusations company executives strenuously reject.

The Trump administration has essentially barred Huawei from the US market and waged a global campaign to isolate the company.

- 'Double criminality' -

Meng, seen as a possible successor to Ren as chief executive, was held on a US warrant for allegedly lying to banks about violating Iran sanctions and put under house arrest. She denies the allegations.

In hearings opening Monday, her lawyers will maintain that she cannot be turned over to the United States anyway because violating US sanctions against Iran is not a crime in Canada -- failing the "double criminality" test.

Canada's attorney-general, however, is expected to argue that her banking interactions amounted to fraud, which is a crime in Canada.

Meng's legal fight could take months or even years.

- Ripple effect -

The case is being watched in part because of the potential ripple effect on ties between the three countries.

Meng's arrest caused an unprecedented rift between Canada and China, which followed up by detaining former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor on espionage suspicions.

Their arrests have been widely interpreted as retribution by Beijing aimed at pressuring Canada to free Meng. The two men remain in China's opaque penal system.

On the other side is the United States, which on Wednesday signed a truce with China in their lengthy trade war.

Donald Trump has pushed hard for the agreement between the two economic giants and has previously suggested that he may intervene in Meng's case to keep trade negotiations on track.

- High (tech) stakes -

The US has pushed its global allies to ban Huawei equipment from domestic networks but the campaign has met with mixed success.

Australia and Japan have taken steps to block or restrict the Chinese company's participation in their 5G rollouts, and European telecommunications operators including Norway's Telenor and Sweden's Telia have passed over Huawei as a supplier.

But several other European countries have not blocked the firm, with Germany resisting US pressure and even close ally Britain indicating it may be open to using some Huawei equipment.

Still, Huawei executives are concerned, with Chairman Eric Xu saying in a New Year message to staff that revenue for 2019 was likely to be lower than originally forecast.

"Survival will be our first priority" in 2020, he said.

burs-dma/dan

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MTS Advantage lands $90.8M contract for cyber red team operations
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MTS Advantage was awarded a $90.8 million contract for cyber systems security and cyber defense, as well as network infrastructure program management, the Department of the Defense announced. The contract funds Cyber Red Team operations, which the Department of Defense uses to conduct adversarial assessments of its networks. Contract funds in the amount of $25,000 will be obligated at the time of the award and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. If all options are exerc ... read more

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