When the UK newspaper The Independent reported on July 29 that the UK intelligence services had placed a ban on the use of Lenovo PCs due to a backdoor hacking chip ahving been built into the machines, leaving them vulnerable to hacking, it made global news.
The article appeared in the Japanese media a few days later, and has steadily gained netizen comments ever since. A vast majority of the comments are from concerned Lenovo users, while other commenters relate the news to a general dislike of China.
While UK intelligence services refuse to comment on the issue, the reaction of Japanese netizens is bound to be of concern to Lenovo, given that the company has been carrying out an aggressive marketing strategy in Japan, with the aim of getting a 30% market share over the next few years, thus making Japan a key market.
From Tokyo Shimbun:
UK Intelligence Organisations: “Do not use” Chinese-Made Lenovo PCs After Discovery That They Are Engineered To Be Hacked
It has been revealed that UK intelligence organisations have banned the use of Chinese-made Lenovo computers. Lenovo is the largest computer manufacturer in the world. The story was reported on July 30, by the UK newspaper The Independent.
When MI5 and GCHQ investigated Lenovo products, they discovered that there was engineering in place that would allow external control of data held on the computer. Scientists expressed concerns over the fact that secret “back-door” chips, which bypass conventional security protection, had been installed in the machines at the time of manufacture.
GCHQ declined to comment on the story, but apparently a notice banning the machines had been issued by intelligence organisations in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand from the mid-naughties.
Lenovo, which bought out IBM computers in 2005, has its largest shareholder as the Chinese state organisation, the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Lenovo also commented to The Independent that, “Our products have been continually certified as reliable and secure by our customers”.
Regarding the Chinese IT industry, last year the Australian government rejected a bid from Huawei Technologies, which has links with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, for high speed communication network enterprises, and this was criticised by the Chinese government.
Comments from Twitter:
文字塚:
Knew it.
かっちゃん@ゴリラ豪雨禁止(´・ω・｀):
…For real (；・∀・) So this is why they are so cheap….
タカーギ:
What should a G475 user like me do?
のん。:
My daughter uses this PC ∑(ﾟДﾟ)” @basilsauce
ゆういち:
People have been saying this for a laugh for a while, but to think that it could be real…
山本康史:
Umm…I use a Lenovo ThinkPad ((((；ﾟДﾟ)))))))
Daisuke Ishii:
Huh? Really? This has to be a lie…RT @DreamChaserJPN
eenya:
Back when they were IBM I really liked using [the ThinkPad] but I’m glad that I stopped using it once it became Lenovo! We have to be on the lookout!
Hiroshi Aihara:
This issue should be taken up at the UN. Each country should denounce China over this.
senoo:
I’m sure this was something that people in computer security would have already known.
竹やん:
Scaaaaaaaaaaaaary. But I think that those strange applications that download onto your computer are scarier.
中宮崇@火事手伝い:
They’re only saying this now? This is just what the Chinks are like anyway. It’s stupider that we’re not vigilant.
Hibi:
Hey hey! Is this true? If it is true, then I definitely can’t buy a Lenovo PC…
I never really liked Lenovo anyway though.
どはん:
Is this really true? I was thinking of getting a ThinkPad next, too!
gan1956:
Is this why they were so impossibly cheap?…I’ve got one, too (ーー;)
makoto＠皇紀:
I only buy Japanese-made Fujitsu computers!
