Venezuela’s president thinks American spies can’t hack Huawei phones

During a recent press briefing, Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, proudly showcased a Huawei smartphone gifted to him by Chinese President Xi Jinping, declaring it to be the "best phone in the world." Maduro made a striking assertion, claiming, "The Americans can’t hack it, neither their spy planes, nor their satellites." The device in question appears to be the Mate X6, a foldable smartphone that Huawei launched in 2024. However, experts argue that the notion of invulnerability is misleading. A vulnerability researcher based in the U.S. commented to TechCrunch that, given Huawei’s development of both hardware and its own operating system, HarmonyOS, the likelihood of hacking increases. "There’s bound to be many more mistakes in their brand-new code than in iOS and Android at this time," the researcher noted, preferring to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the discussion. Like all software, HarmonyOS is subject to bugs and requires regular security updates. Huawei has committed to providing monthly security patches for the Mate X6, but also cautioned that the frequency of updates may vary by carrier, with some potentially offering quarterly updates. Recently, Huawei addressed 60 vulnerabilities in HarmonyOS, with 13 categorized as "high severity." Moreover, Huawei has acknowledged the risks of malware on its devices and maintains a dedicated page to assist customers who might face hacking issues. Despite inquiries, Huawei did not provide a comment on these matters. The backdrop of U.S. government hacking attempts against Huawei is notable, with a history that includes revelations from Edward Snowden in 2014, which exposed NSA operations that compromised Huawei servers in China. The leaked documents indicated that NSA operatives had established backdoors within Huawei's infrastructure, enabling them to monitor communications of company executives and gather intelligence on its products. The documents stated, "Many of our targets communicate over Huawei-produced products," emphasizing the intent to exploit these devices to gain access to networks of interest worldwide. Even years later, it is widely believed that U.S. agencies like the NSA and Cyber Command continue efforts to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in Huawei technology, with some personnel potentially dedicated solely to this task. Earlier this year, the Chinese government reiterated accusations against the NSA for targeting critical infrastructure within China.