Chris Abraham

“If Chinese spymasters really wanted to use PCs to check in on the US government, they could do it without Lenovo.” Via Engadget

“Remember a few months ago when the US State Department ordered thousands of Lenovo PCs despite concerns by some that the boxes could be infested with evil Commie spyware? Well, the computers have apparently been delivered, and the government has now decided those concerns should be taken seriously. The 16,000 Lenovo computers will basically be quarantined from other government computers, and won’t be used for any classified work. Which we assume means they’ll be used for games of Solitaire and BitTorrent downloads of patriotic anthems. C’mon guys, let’s get real here. Sure, Lenovo’s computers are made in China. But so are plenty of other computers, including Apple’s shiny new MacBooks. And ThinkPads and ThinkCenters were made in China, in the exact same factories, even when IBM still owned the brands. The fact is, if Chinese spymasters really wanted to use PCs to check in on the US government, they could do it without Lenovo. We’re not suggesting that the government not be wary of international espionage. But if they really want to get serious about it, there are better ways to do it than buying 16,000 computers and then limiting their use to back-office functions.”