Western spooks' banned Lenovo PCs after finding back doors

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/29/lenovo_accused_backdoors_intel_ban/

By Phil Muncaster
The Register
29th July 2013

Chinese PC giant Lenovo has been banned from supplying kit for the top 
secret networks of western intelligence agencies after security concerns 
emerged when backdoor vulnerabilities were detected, according to a new 
report.

Unnamed intelligence and defence “sources” in the UK and Australia 
confirmed to the Australian Financial Review that a written ban was 
slapped on the firm almost a decade ago in the mid-2000s. The timeframe 
offered matches Lenovo's 2005 acquisition of IBM's PC business.

Serious backdoor vulnerabilities in hardware and firmware were apparently 
discovered during the tests which could allow attackers to remotely access 
devices without the knowledge of the owner.

The ban applies to various agencies in the Five Eyes alliance (UK, US, 
Canada, New Zealand and Australia) where such rules are normally 
implemented across the board given the interconnected nature of some of 
their classified networks, AFR said.

[...]

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