Chapter 218 Support of the Governmen (1/2)
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Google was giving their all in an attempt to strangle the Star Cloud System pushed by Xing Hai Technologies! They chose to risk the possibility of negative publicity and come under the investigation of Z country's Information Security Department, even if they would become a public target. They had still done something like opening the backdoors.
If they did not do that, it would be akin to certain death. With the progression speed of the Star Cloud system, the Android system would come under threat in about half a year's time. If they took the risk, they would be rewarded with a trace of hope. They would drive the Star Cloud system into a corner and kill it in its infancy! Then, they simply had to get their spokesperson to issue an apology, coupled with excuses that it was ”unintentional.” At most, they would face an additional fine by Z country's government. All of this could be tolerated. As long as they killed off the Star Cloud system, and as long as the majority of Z country's citizens were still using Android, the price that they had to pay now could always be recovered at a later time.
Hence, they opened the backdoors without hesitation.
...
At the Department of Hardware Development, a high-ranking senior engineer had found the backdoor planted by Google. ”They tampered with the motherboard driver.” The engineer continued, ”The java virtual machine will implant a line of detection code on the motherboard driver. When you replace the firmware on your mobile, the code will detect if it's Android or non-Android. If it's Android, the replacement can continue, but if it's not, the code will be activated and cause a malfunction in the motherboard circuit control chip. At this point, the phone cannot be switched on. This kind of backdoor that is planted on the level of the driver is not scary at all. It's something that can be easily blocked. The really scary backdoors are the ones written in the hardware coding. That kind of backdoor cannot be blocked. The only way is to change the hardware in question.”
It was without a doubt that this type of backdoor existed based on the actions of Google. However, this type of backdoor was a trump card that would guarantee the death of the target. It would not be opened until the last decisive moment. Then again, there were some real-life examples.
In the Gulf War of '91, the multinational coalition forces had launched a full-scale air strike against Iraq. The Iraqi radar warning system had been unresponsive as the country's air defense radars were all purchased from France, and all the chips used in the radars were from Merica.
In the Iranian nuclear crisis of the 2000s, the ”Stuxnet virus” became famous overnight. It had paralyzed almost all the centrifuge equipment in the country, causing Iran's nuclear program to stagnate for several years. It was because all the chips in the computer controlling the centrifuge equipment were from Merica.
In 20X8, Intel was hit with the ”Meltdown” attacks. The company's various chips were found to have serious technical defects. However, they had already been in continuous use for more than ten years. Professionals had pointed out that the vulnerabilities caused by Intel chip defects might affect the personal information security of almost all users of computer and mobile devices. Affected devices could number in the hundreds of millions. Even now, one could not tell whether it was safe to use foreign systems and chips. The vast majority of the population felt that they were ok as long as they provided a good user experience. Hence, they did not really care about matters like security. It was too late to realize the danger only when the situation changed dramatically and the crisis broke out. By then, it would be too late for regrets.
Chen Jin asked, ”How do we solve the threat of the backdoors?”
”We have to use our own products from the hardware to the software,” the engineer said, ”It's best that all the components are domestically produced, including the CPU, motherboard, DARM memory chip, NAND storage, batteries, and even the cameras and screens. As for the software, it's also ideal to use our own programs exclusively. This includes the operating system, bottom layer driver program, and hardware program. We should achieve absolute security and control. Even if we cannot avoid some loopholes, at least these loopholes are within our control. It's totally different as compared to placing this control in someone else's hands.”
Chen Jin nodded. ”This means that the Star Cloud system can only free itself from the threat of backdoors by achieving full domestic production of all hardware components.”
”Yes!”