China receives aid from European Companies: Technological equipment for worldwide monitoring provided by German businesses
In a shocking revelation, a hacker group, Enlace Hacktivista, has leaked over 600 gigabytes of internal files from the environment of China's Great Firewall, shedding light on the systems' development and their use in countries like Myanmar, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Kazakhstan.
The Great Firewall, a system that monitors data traffic, controls content, and provides the Chinese government with means to censor the internet, is not just a domestic phenomenon. It appears that China is exporting its censorship technology to other countries.
Fang Binxing, a computer scientist and former president of the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, is considered the architect of the Great Firewall. His company, Geedge Networks, focuses on network security and data filtering, which critics see as a commercial extension of the Great Firewall.
Geedge offers complete packages for censorship systems that can be easily adapted for individual countries. The leaked systems have been used to block VPNs in Myanmar, monitor private calls in Pakistan, organize internet blackouts in Ethiopia, and are planning expansion to Malaysia, Bahrain, Algeria, and India.
European companies, including German ones, are allegedly involved in this global expansion. Thales from France supplies components for license management in China's global surveillance infrastructure. Datafusion, originally from Trovicor (Germany), operates monitoring centers for intercepted data in Pakistan. Utimaco from Aachen, another German company, supplies its 'Lawful Interception Management System' for mass surveillance in Pakistan.
Under China's 'Rule by Law', artificial intelligence is not seen as a protection of individual freedom, but as an instrument to enforce obedience. This aligns with Beijing's AI+ agenda that uses artificial intelligence as a tool for control.
The German Ministry of Economics has yet to respond to queries about the official approval of exports to Pakistan for dual-use technology. The internal documents leaked by Enlace Hacktivista do not specifically indicate the role of European companies in the globalization of Chinese internet censorship.
However, it is clear that by exporting these technologies, China is spreading its understanding of order, and European companies are proving to be willing helpers. The Great Firewall not only censors what people see but also captures what they think, serving as an early warning system for potential discontent.
This development raises serious questions about the ethical implications of technology exports and the role of companies in facilitating internet censorship and surveillance on a global scale. As the world continues to grapple with these issues, it is crucial to promote transparency and accountability in the tech industry.
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