You might like Ghost Fleet [1] (or [2] for more colorful review). Ghost Fleet is essentially a white paper turned into a Tom Clancy style techno-thriller on what war might look like between China and the United States. Tactics from Ghost Fleet include:

- Infected microchips from Chinese suppliers used to target and destroy the US Pacific fleet.

- Disabling GPS with anti-satellite missiles.

- Cyber attacks to disrupt the DOD communications networks.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Fleet_(novel)

[2]: https://morningconsult.com/2015/09/08/the-defense-wonks-who-...

Thanks for the recommendation.

> Infected microchips from Chinese suppliers used to target and destroy the US Pacific fleet.

Awesome, the ideas that are often posted here have somehow made their way into fiction.

> Disabling GPS with anti-satellite missiles.

Just GPS? I'd expect surveillance and communications satellites to be much higher priority targets.

Oh nice. Ghost Fleet looks like the 2015 version of Red Storm Rising.

IIRC: In the late-2019 BBC Click interview with GCHQ on the subject of Huawei, 5G, and security the spokesperson said information security wasn't an issue as we have end-to-end to handle that, the greatest risk was remote shutdown of the network. I assumed they're alluding to "in a time of war", falling back to non-5G wouldn't seem to be a big problem ... but then lots of our comms send to run on Huawei hardware already.

Personally I don't think that risk is worth avoiding Huawei over. But then I'd be happy to maintain the top level of infrastructure we already have in the UK and work on bringing breadth to the networks using 3G&4G and taking an upgrade-hiatus. I'm not convinced the average person will get much from 5G except more infringement of civil liberties ...?

Colour me skeptical. I've seen enough to know that MITM gives you enough information or threat vectors.

That said, I agree with you about Huawei and non-5G. We shouldn't be talking about banning them on 5G, we should be talking about banning them (and anyone outside of the western alliance, really) from selling gear in our countries period. National security takes precedent. China doesn't even let reporters from the NYT in their country ffs.

But whatever. Politicians are reactive and don't understand cybersecurity and the few that do don't have the sway or incentives to really push for this. Though I will say one thing, in a cyberwar we'd brick China just as badly as they would brick us, so at least we have MAD working for us.

Should the Europeans ban American equipment?

We know the NSA intercepts shipments and tampers with network equipment, on top of everything else they do. We also know a foreign agent (with considerable Chinese debt who was elected with the help of Russian intelligence) is now in the White House.

I know it’s fashionable to shit on China (China China China), but it’s not like they’re doing something new and unique. How can you count on the US, or any other country, to be a reliable partner?

The POTUS is openly inviting Russian interference in US affairs ffs.

> Should the Europeans ban American equipment?

That's up to them and their own risk assessment. One thing I know for sure is that if they did, the US would wage an economic war so fiercely on Europe, that Nokia & Ericsson would have a tough time doing anything in the US for years to come.

Further, collateral damage would include all sorts of manufacturing, which would cripple Germany.

Remember the imbalance here: European manufacturing is more dependent upon the US than the US is on Europe. Fully 50% of Germany's GDP is exports, and worse, Germany exported $118bn of goods, while the US exported only $50 to Germany.[1] While that doesn't seem a big difference, once you look at it as a share of each other's economies, it is immense (roughly 3% of German GDP, versus only 0.5% of US GDP).

[1] - https://www.americanexpress.com/us/foreign-exchange/articles...

You are talking about US vs EU and compare US to Germany.

True, but for a good reason. If you take out the economic engine of Germany, you’re done. They are the banking muscle of the EU, and once that goes, everything goes.

Not exacly. For sure Germany is one of the core players in UE but don't forget about others. About exp/imp data https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Germany if you have better data about that please propose correction.

Russia could be nothing more than a scapegoat & cooperator in domestic plots. Imagine if the CIA wanted to manipulate domestic politics. They might use foreigners as a proxy to prevent being implicated for something outside their supposed mission.

I'm not saying that I believe that any more than the media narrative, or have any insight into unseen forces at play, but there is also reason for skepticism. Noam Chomsky as one example has said he thinks the hubbub about Russian interference is a farce. Disinformation and influence operations are real and powerful tools.

If European nations were worried about vulnerability to the US military they'd probably start by removing all those air bases and nuclear weapons and leaving NATO.

They aren't worried about the US, because the US isn't expansionist and generally only applies muscular diplomacy to nations that are small and poor. China has used military force to expand much more recently than the US, making it much more of a concern.

> because the US isn't expansionist

The US has military basis everywhere.

> only applies muscular diplomacy to nations that are small and poor

Is China small and poor?

> China has used military force to expand much more recently than the US.

The US is fighting 2 wars that will last 20 years, and is looking anxious to start a new one...

5G is most certainly a weapon. If nothing else, it is a steroid injection to the surveillance state.