CybserSecurity News

Tag: Huawei

  • China Chip Power: Huawei Unveils Qingyun Desktops with New Kirin 9000X & Linux OS

    Huawei has unveiled two new desktop PCs for the Chinese domestic market — the Qingyun W515y and Qingyun W585y. Both systems are powered by the company’s own Kirin 9000X processor and ship with Chinese operating systems Tongxin UOS V20 or Galaxy Kylin V10, both developed as state-approved alternatives to Windows for government and enterprise use in China.

    The Kirin 9000X processor itself has yet to be formally introduced by the company. According to Chinese media, it is an eight-core chip supporting sixteen threads, with a base clock speed of 2.5 GHz. The chip is developed by Huawei’s semiconductor division, HiSilicon. The Kirin 9000X succeeds the earlier Kirin 9000C and debuts alongside the refreshed PC models, which replace last year’s Qingyun W515x and W585x.

    For reference, the original Kirin 9000 was built on Arm architecture and featured three Cortex-A77 cores running at up to 3.13 GHz, complemented by four power-efficient Cortex-A55 cores clocked at up to 2.05 GHz. Its integrated graphics unit was a Mali-G78 with 24 cores. Huawei produced multiple variants of the Kirin 9000 for smartphones, laptops, and desktops. Initially manufactured by TSMC using the 5 nm N5 process, production later shifted to a new supply chain following U.S. trade restrictions.

    Huawei has shared limited details about the PCs themselves. Both models are equipped with quad-channel LPDDR5x memory, SSD storage, and an optional hard drive, with the possibility of adding a DVD-RW optical drive. The systems share identical dimensions — 293 × 93 × 315.5 mm — and weigh around 3.6 kg without an optical or hard drive, making them slightly lighter than their predecessors.

    Notably, Huawei has once again chosen not to install HarmonyOS. Like the previous generation, these machines run either UOS V20, developed by UnionTech, or Galaxy Kylin V10. Both Linux-based operating systems are tailored to meet China’s governmental and enterprise security standards.

    The chassis design remains virtually unchanged. The front panel features one USB Type-C port, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, and a 3.5 mm audio jack for headsets. On the rear, there are four additional USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a Gigabit Ethernet connector, a serial port, three 3.5 mm audio jacks, and VGA and HDMI video outputs. Each unit comes bundled with a wired Huawei K100 keyboard and an M100 mouse. Pricing and release dates have yet to be announced.

  • Luxembourg Hit by “Sophisticated” Cyberattack: Huawei Equipment Targeted, Mobile Networks Down for Hours

    The government of Luxembourg has launched an official investigation into an unprecedented disruption of the national telecommunications system that occurred on July 23. The cause of the outage, which left 4G and 5G mobile networks inoperable for over three hours, was a cyber incident targeting Huawei equipment embedded within the infrastructure of the state-owned telecom provider, POST Luxembourg.

    The repercussions were deeply felt. With the outdated 2G network overwhelmed, a significant portion of the population was unable to contact emergency services. Simultaneously, the breakdown in cellular connectivity disrupted internet access and electronic banking services nationwide. Even the national alert mechanism failed: emergency notifications were not delivered to recipients, as the system also relies on POST’s mobile infrastructure.

    According to officials, the attack was not intended to steal data or breach network systems. Its apparent aim was to destabilize critical services. As the director of POST clarified, the techniques employed were “exceptionally sophisticated and technologically intricate.” Nevertheless, preliminary assessments indicate that internal systems and stored data were not compromised.

    Of particular concern is the exploitation of a vulnerability in a standardized software component used in Huawei’s network equipment. Although official statements refrained from naming the vendor directly, the publication Paperjam reported that Huawei routers were the focal point of the attack. In response, the regulatory authority for critical infrastructure has urged all organizations utilizing such devices to immediately contact the National Cybersecurity Incident Response Center (CSIRT).

    Previous vulnerabilities in Huawei’s network operating system, VRP, which underpins its enterprise products, have indeed been documented—some of which enabled remote denial-of-service attacks. However, no new critical flaws have been disclosed in public sources.

    While CSIRT specialists continue their meticulous forensic analysis, the public prosecutor’s office has also been engaged to determine whether criminal offenses were committed and to identify any responsible parties. Additionally, a crisis cell under the High Commission for National Protection (HCPN) has been activated to coordinate response efforts in real time.

    This incident has also prompted an acceleration in Luxembourg’s digital resilience strategy. As part of an ongoing national cybersecurity review, authorities are reassessing risks linked to single points of failure. Regulatory reforms are under discussion, including the possibility of enabling automatic switching between cellular networks from different providers during outages—a safeguard already implemented in the UK, Germany, and the United States to ensure continuity of communications in emergency situations.

  • Linux Kernel 6.17 Delivers “Wild Gains” for EXT4: Major Performance Boosts for Servers & Containers

    The new Linux kernel version 6.17 introduces substantial enhancements to the EXT4 file system, significantly boosting the performance of servers equipped with numerous CPU cores and running large volumes of containers. These advancements refine data block allocation algorithms and improve handling of large memory blocks.

    Baokun Li, an engineer at Huawei, identified scalability issues within EXT4 when modern servers execute many containers concurrently. Performance analysis revealed that the allocation and release mechanisms for data blocks in the file system became a critical bottleneck. As container density increased, contention over access to these subsystems led to a marked decline in overall system efficiency.

    Addressing the issue required the development of 18 distinct patches, each subjected to three rigorous rounds of community review within the Linux development ecosystem. These improvements have now been officially integrated into kernel version 6.17.

    The results are striking: the speed of preallocation operations for container storage has increased dramatically, particularly under heavy loads. An added benefit is the notable reduction in file fragmentation, although it comes at the minor cost of slightly increased free-space fragmentation on the disk.

    These updates are particularly consequential for cloud service providers and organizations heavily reliant on containerized application infrastructure. The EXT4 refinements stand out as one of the most significant file system upgrades in Linux 6.17, promising meaningful gains in server performance and operational scalability.

  • China Achieves Digital Sovereignty in Space: OpenHarmony OS Successfully Tested on Satellite

    China has successfully tested its own operating system in space, marking a significant stride toward reducing dependence on foreign software amid tightening Western sanctions.

    The Dalian-1 Lianli cubesat, deployed from the Chinese space station Tiangong, spent over a thousand hours trialing systems powered by OpenHarmony—an open-source, streamlined variant of Huawei’s HarmonyOS. The operating system demonstrated exceptional efficiency and reliability under the rigors of space, enabling rapid data processing and stable hardware performance. This achievement represents just one example of China’s broader push to cultivate indigenous operating systems and reduce technological reliance on external powers.

    Researchers from Dalian and Xi’an reported that, following the switch to OpenHarmony, the satellite responded more swiftly to commands and tracked its position with greater precision. Three core subsystems—the magnetometer, solar sensor, and orientation unit—functioned flawlessly. Command-response latency was reduced to a mere two microseconds, allowing for far more frequent data updates and significantly enhancing the satellite’s overall performance.

    According to the journal Space: Science and Technology, the new system outperformed prior solutions based on rudimentary firmware or foreign software. It is the first Chinese satellite to integrate both a domestically developed operating system and a homegrown processor, showcasing the nation’s capacity for complete autonomy in managing spacecraft technologies.

    Building on these results, the team led by Professor Yu Xiaozhou at Dalian University of Technology has drafted national standards for the integration of OpenHarmony into small satellites. The system has already begun deployment in both commercial and academic ventures within China.

    Huawei, blacklisted by the U.S. government in 2019, lost access to critical American technologies—an action that compelled China to accelerate the development of homegrown alternatives, including operating systems. Yet, the Chinese tech giant has continued its forward momentum, and recent milestones suggest that sanctions have not curtailed its technological aspirations. Today, the OpenHarmony project is overseen by the OpenAtom Foundation and is gaining traction in satellite and embedded platforms.

    Previously, China had relied on foreign or open-source platforms such as FreeRTOS, which were initially attractive due to the lack of licensing constraints. However, that reliance became burdensome, especially after export controls were imposed on foreign semiconductors. According to Yu, this hampered the growth of the nation’s satellite capabilities. The shift toward domestically engineered technologies reflects a broader strategic vision—one in which China is decisively moving away from its dependence on American software. The creation of a wholly national software-hardware ecosystem now stands as the country’s bold response to this geopolitical challenge.

  • Huawei ranks first in the global communication equipment market in 2021

    According to Business Korea, Huawei ranks first in the global communication equipment market in 2021, accounting for 28.7% of the market in terms of sales, ranking first. Relevant statistics include broadband access, microwave, and optical transmission, mobile core network (MCN), radio access network (RAN), and SP routers and switches.

    Huawei 5G base
    Ericsson ranks second in the global communication equipment market in 2021, with a market share of 15%, followed by Nokia with a market share of 14.9%, the gap between the two is very small. ZTE, Cisco, and Samsung Electronics ranked fourth to sixth, with market shares of 10.5%, 5.6%, and 3.1% respectively. If the sales figures in the Chinese market are excluded, those of Ericsson and Nokia were 20 percent each, and Huawei’s 18%.

    At present, Huawei’s mobile business has been greatly affected. Its global smartphone shipments in 2021 will drop by 81.6% to only 35 million units, and its market share also drop from 15% to 3%. At this stage, Huawei may focus its efforts on the communications equipment market, which has been growing for four consecutive years. In 2021, the global communication equipment market sales increase by 7%, total sales have increased by about 20% since 2017 to $100 billion, and growth is expected to be around 4% in 2022.

  • Huawei nova 9 SE appears: features 108MP camera, 66W fast charge

    On March 9, according to Huawei’s official website in Malaysia, they launched a new phone – Huawei nova 9 SE, which currently only supports reservations and cannot be purchased yet. The biggest highlight of the machine is the use of a 108MP main camera. Throughout the history of Huawei’s mobile phones, the nova 9 SE has also become the first 108MP mobile phone in Huawei’s history.

    As can be seen from the appearance diagram displayed on the official website, the screen of Huawei nova 9 SE adopts a centered hole-digging design. This screen supports 1080p resolution and is a 6.78-inch LCD screen. The screen quality is somewhat average. At the same time, it also supports side fingerprint recognition. The back adopts a four-camera design, and the composition of the lens module is similar to that of the Huawei P50 series. It is understood that the four lenses are a 108MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth-of-field lens.

    However, the official website does not give detailed information on the lens. The most used 108MP lens in the current Android camp is Samsung’s HM2 sensor, which has a size of 1/1.52 inch and a unit pixel area of ​​0.7μm. Huawei nova 9 SE is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor, does not support 5G, and runs the Android 11 system.

    In terms of battery life, the machine is equipped with a 4000mAh capacity battery and has a built-in 66W fast charge. There is no price information yet. Huawei said it will announce the price on March 11.

  • Samsung may manufacture Huawei Kirin 9000L chip based on the 5nm process

    Affected by U.S. sanctions, the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation has stopped producing Kirin series processors for Huawei, which has also led to Huawei’s lack of necessary 5G chips to produce smartphones.

    At present, the United States has allowed some US suppliers to provide some chips to Huawei. For example, Qualcomm can supply 4G smartphone chips to Huawei. However, 5G mobile phones are currently attracting more attention in the Chinese market, so Huawei’s strategy is to continue production 4G mobile phones are shipped to overseas markets where 5G coverage is currently low.

    “Huawei Kirin 620” by Stratageme.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

    However, this situation may usher in a change, because the media recently reported that Samsung may manufacture Huawei Kirin 9000L processor, the main frequency of this processor is 2.86GHz, slightly lower than Kirin 9000 and Kirin 9000E processing. As for the specific configuration information of this Kirin 9000L processor, it is currently unclear. The main frequency of the Kirin 9000 processor is 3.13GHz, and the GPU has 18 Mail-G78 cores.

    The report also said that the Kirin 9000L processor will be produced based on Samsung’s 5-nanometer process. The 5-nanometer process is currently a very advanced process in the industry, but there is no official confirmation on whether Samsung can actually manufacture for Huawei.

    Via: huaweicentral

  • Huawei calls for dialogue with U.S. President Biden to allow U.S. suppliers to supply Huawei

    Previously, former US President Trump added Huawei to the list of regulated entities for unwarranted charges, which prevented US companies from conducting various transactions with Huawei.

    These bans signed by Trump have caused Huawei to face serious difficulties, and now Trump has stepped down and left, but the bans signed before still restrict Huawei.

    For this reason, Huawei has called for a dialogue with the Biden administration as soon as possible, so that US supply chain companies can re-cooperate with Huawei and continue to provide Huawei with various components.

    Of course, Huawei also knows that it is unrealistic to lift the ban in a short time. Huawei hopes that the Biden government can adjust and issue temporary general supply licenses.

    Huawei ban
    “” by f999999_key is licensed under CC CC0 1.0

    Huawei USA’s Chief Security Officer Andy Purdy says:

    “We’re hoping that the Biden administration rather than bundling all the various issues together and using them for geopolitical negotiation with China, will look at individuals separately, such as the ability of American companies to sell to Huawei, at least $12 billion a year, which is about 40,000 jobs.”

    “We’ve been hurt very significantly in terms of the mobile devices, but we’re taking a very long term approach, and it’s helping us prioritize which products are most important. We are committed to this space. And even if we take a hit for a few more years, we are going to be in this space.”

    Although the U.S. government has issued licenses to some U.S. companies to allow supply to Huawei, the current situation is still anxious to threaten Huawei’s operations.

    At present, such as Intel, AMD and Qualcomm have obtained temporary licenses, which will allow these US companies to supply Huawei within the scope of the license.

    For example, Qualcomm is allowed to provide some 4G chip products to Huawei. Although Huawei cannot launch 5G mobile phones, it can provide 4G mobile phones to some overseas markets.

    Therefore, Huawei hopes to start a dialogue with the Biden government. If more restrictions can be released, Huawei is expected to re-adjust the layout and restore the supply of mobile phones.

    However, as Huawei’s US vice president said, it is not realistic to expect the US government to lift various bans in the short term, and it is more practical to expand the scope of licenses.

    Via: Yahoo

  • Huawei may enter the game console market to compete with PlayStation/Xbox

    Huawei has been developing at an ultra-high-speed in the past few years, and civilian products such as mobile phones, tablet computers, thin and light notebook computers, and TVs have all occupied a place in their respective fields.

    However, the Huawei brand has not really entered the game market. It only released the Android-based game console TRON at the 2014 CES exhibition.

    Recently, it has been reported that Huawei is planning to enter the game console field and has made a very complete business path planning. Huawei will first launch a gaming notebook, and then Huawei will launch a gaming console.

    Although the Windows operating system is a good choice, and there is already a complete game ecosystem, Huawei is likely to avoid the risk of being sanctioned in the future and not being able to continue to use Windows. The other option would be a Linux-based OS. The host will be equipped with an open-source Linux operating system.

    Although the game ecology of the Linux operating system has developed very well in recent years, its game ecology is still far from being able to match the fast-developing Windows game ecology. Therefore, Huawei’s game consoles are likely to face the dilemma of insufficient games. Unless you give developers and development companies a material incentive to get the game.

    From the perspective of Huawei’s business plan, Huawei will compete head-to-head with PlayStation and Xbox in the game field in the future, and will simultaneously fight with gaming notebook manufacturers such as Lenovo and HP. This is obviously not a simple thing.

    Via: huaweicentral

  • EU companies complain the U.S. Department of Commerce to block Chinese companies & open doors to U.S. companies

    During this period of time, the U.S. Department of Commerce banned Huawei and its affiliates, SMIC, and DJI, which focuses on drones, on various unwarranted charges.

    These bans not only have a negative impact on Chinese technology companies but also affect global technology supply chain companies because supplies require US approval.

    EU companies containing US-based technology are also affected by the ban. These European companies also need to apply for corresponding licenses if they want to supply to the blocked companies.

    It is worth noting that the US Department of Commerce has approved some US technology companies, and these companies can supply products to companies under the ban within the scope of the license.

    For example, Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm have been approved to provide some semiconductor products such as core processors to Huawei.

    The Financial Times recently quoted EU technology executives as saying that some US companies have so far obtained supply licenses, but European companies have not.

    These EU companies cannot provide technology and parts to companies such as Huawei, but certain American companies can resume exporting some basically the same technology and parts.

    Obviously, this is like the United States deliberately opening the back door to domestic US companies through a ban. This is the same as the outgoing Trump’s U.S. priority trade policy. The U.S. government uses bans to support American companies to suppress EU companies.

    The reason why the entire EU can be restricted by the US ban is using US-based technology, and the use of US-based technology by EU technology companies is therefore subject to US policies.

    If these companies violate the ban, US companies can no longer provide US-based technology to them, so EU companies are worried that they will be restricted to comply with US laws.

    But now this situation has given the EU a very headache. The nature of the sanctions centered on the United States may have many far-reaching effects. Therefore, the EU must also change.

    Now European governments are also calling for reducing their dependence on American technology, otherwise, in the future, all technologies will be controlled by the United States and the consequences will be unimaginable.

    It is worth noting that among the approved supply chain companies are South Korea’s Samsung and Japan’s Sony, while South Korea and Japan themselves have relatively close relations with the United States.

    Via: Thurrott