Facepalm: Nicolas Maduro, who clings to power in Venezuela despite widespread evidence of election rigging and corruption, appears to be quite enamored with his Huawei smartphone. The device was a gift from Chinese president Xi Jinping, which may explain why Maduro – never shy about making dramatic proclamations – declared it to be "the best phone in the world."
In an amazing example of overstating the security powers of HarmonyOS, Maduro said "The Americans can't hack it, neither their spy planes, nor their satellites." Maduro never said what model of Huawei handset Jinping gifted him, but it looks like the foldable Mate X6 that was released in 2024.
Somewhat ironically, Huawei was added to the US Department of Commerce's Entity List in May 2019 over fears its telecom equipment could be used for espionage or surveillance, among other reasons.
In fairness, it is a very good phone, though the lack of Google services and limited 5G compatibility in the US mean the Mate X6 is best suited to those in China.
Maduro's assertion that the Mate X6 is essentially unhackable is, of course, ridiculous, especially when the hacking is being done by the US, which has extensive resources, equipment, and some of the world's best government hackers.
Then there's the OS itself. Huawei claims it's microkernel-based, which in theory improves security by reducing the attack surface. However, unlike Android, HarmonyOS is not fully open-source, meaning fewer independent audits. This makes external security validation harder.
As it lacks Google Play Services, Apps on Huawei phones come through Huawei's AppGallery or third-party stores. While the Android Play Store has had its problems with malicious apps, AppGallery is smaller and historically more vulnerable to these apps compared to Google's version.
TechCrunch notes that HarmonyOS has bugs and vulnerabilities requiring regular updates. Huawei says the Mate X6 receives monthly security patches, but it warns that "the number of device models with monthly security patch updates is subject to change. Certain carriers may only support updates on a quarterly basis."
Huawei patched 60 bugs in HarmonyOS in August alone, 13 of which were classified as high-severity. The Chinese giant also has a help page for users whose Huawei devices have been hacked, which Maduro presumably doesn't know about.
Huawei patched 60 bugs in HarmonyOS in August alone, 13 of which were classified as high-severity. The Chinese giant also has a help page for users whose Huawei devices have been hacked, which Maduro presumably doesn't know about.
China has on several occasions accused the US of launching hacking campaigns against the country. The most recent accusation was that "advanced" US cyberattacks were carried out during the Asian Winter Games in February, targeting essential industries. The US, of course, considers China the largest and most persistent cyber-espionage threat in the world.
