Codebook Apple.
Codebook Apple.
The Huawei logo, taken from the firm's Istanbul office. Photo: Serhat Cagdas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The United States has made its first threat to curtail sharing intelligence with an ally if that government ignores U.S. warnings about Huawei 5G equipment, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Why it matters: This is no small threat. The warning to Germany represents an escalation from previous American statements that raised the prospect of strained relationships and suggested the U.S. can't safely maintain a presence in countries where it believes infrastructure is not secure.
The big picture: Washington is waging an international campaign to sour the world on China's Huawei, based on four ongoing controversies. Huawei may be, according to various U.S critics, any or all of the following:
And all this is also intertwined with President Trump's trade negotiations with Beijing.
The intrigue: If you set aside the potential espionage and other crimes, Huawei is an attractive supplier for 5G equipment. It offers price advantages in a thinly populated market for 5G equipment, and shunning the firm would harm Germany's economic relationship with China.
What they're saying: Historically, presidents try not to play chicken with our allies.
Meanwhile, President Trump remains a wild card in the struggle to implement his own policies.
The Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation and New America think tank announced Monday they had linked 21 educational institutions in a new network of schools training technologists to work for the public good.
The big picture: Jenny Toomey, the Ford Foundation's international program director for technology and society, compares the current state of public interest technology to public interest law in the 1960s — there's a need for the field, but none of the infrastructure to support it.
The participants: The current slate of schools for the Public Interest Technology University Network includes heavy-hitting research schools like MIT, Harvard and the University of Michigan. Interestingly, it also includes Miami Dade College, a former community college system known for training practitioners rather than academics.
RSA, which wrapped up on Friday, is a business-focused conference, and Codebook caught up with many businesses to discuss their latest news and insights.
ForeScout anticipates a convergence of business network and industrial systems protection.
Axonius won an RSA award for innovative startup with a product marketed as intentionally boring.
Barrett Lyon talked about Netography, his new company that aims to reduce the amount of data it takes to identify a DDoS attack.
IBM discussed its new blockchain penetration testing service.
New bipartisan bills seek more parental control over children's privacy and more forethought about "internet of things" security.
Details: The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 is now old enough to drink, and Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) want to update the law. New features would include greater transparency for parents and giving them the ability to delete data.
Cylance on integrating with new corporate parent BlackBerry:
Veracode on being purchased twice over the last months of 2018:
Photo: Julie Thurston Photography/Getty Images