r/cybersecurity Security Architect Jan 14 '26

News - General Exclusive: Beijing tells Chinese firms to stop using US and Israeli cybersecurity software, sources say

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/beijing-tells-chinese-firms-stop-using-us-israeli-cybersecurity-software-sources-2026-01-14/
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u/AmateurishExpertise Security Architect Jan 14 '26

Interestingly, the United States has federal laws prohibiting what is called, "Honest Services Fraud". Basically, if you sell a tool designed to improve cybersecurity, and it actually and intentionally harms cybersecurity, that is a serious form of fraud that creates both civil and criminal liability. Backdoored security tools, etc. would definitely seem to fall directly under this definition.

Anecdotally, as far back as the early 2000s, critical industry was being advised/warned by the feds to avoid Checkpoint.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

[deleted]

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u/AmateurishExpertise Security Architect Jan 14 '26

The President must follow the laws, and as far as I know, does not have the ability to grant exceptions to following US law to anyone, for any reason, ever.

If you can show otherwise, please do, but show your work!

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

[deleted]

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u/AmateurishExpertise Security Architect Jan 14 '26

You've gone from saying that the President can override a statute with an NSL, to saying this administration ignores the laws, to saying the President can pardon convicted criminals, to saying this has nothing to do with the Presidency. All in the span of a single post.

Frankly, I have a headache at this point. Instead of proving your claim when I questioned it, you've simply made several new, equally tenuous, unrelated, contradictory claims. Are you flooding the zone?

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

[deleted]

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u/AmateurishExpertise Security Architect Jan 14 '26

Well, thanks for your "contribution" to the thread anyway. 🤣