Reuters: Many Western security providers no longer welcome in China
Beijing instructs domestic companies to refrain from using security services from certain companies from the USA, Israel, and France. Reuters reports.
(Image: FOTOGRIN/Shutterstock.com)
Chinese authorities are urging large Chinese companies to stop using IT security software from certain foreign providers. This is reported by Reuters, citing three insiders who cannot be named by the news agency. National security is cited as the reason for the move, as security solutions deeply embedded in corporate networks could secretly collect data and transmit it abroad.
A public announcement of the ban is not yet known. The background is Beijing's pursuit of digital sovereignty. However, some now-disgraced companies have uncovered IT crimes in other countries and attributed them to China. This is unlikely to have put the decision-makers there in a benevolent mood.
In theory, more than a dozen American, Israeli, and French companies are affected. However, not all of them have a significant presence in the People's Republic's corporate market.
Prominent Names
Two sources named Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, and the Broadcom subsidiary VMware as impacted, all of which are from the USA. Additionally, Check Point from Israel is said to be included. All four maintain their branches in China. A third source additionally named Imperva, a subsidiary of the French Thales group, on the US side Claroty, CrowdStrike, McAfee, Recorded Future, Rapid7, SentinelOne, as well as Alphabet subsidiaries Mandiant and Wiz, and on the Israeli side Orca Security, Cato Networks, and CyberArk, whose takeover by Palo Alto Networks is imminent.
Videos by heise
heise online contacted Broadcom for a statement, including information about the fate of its stake in China: VMware founded a joint venture in China ten years ago with the local company Sugon. Broadcom did not comment to Reuters, nor did the majority of the affected brands.
McAfee is a peculiar entry on the list, as it does not target large enterprises. Claroty, CrowdStrike, Recorded Future, and SentinelOne have informed the news agency that they do not do business in China. Orca Security stated that they have not been informed of any ban; such a measure against providers of defensive IT security would be a “step in the wrong direction.”
(ds)
