Drones and Huawei

[pmrid (Peter)]

I had a photographer on our farm yesterday doing so aerial imaging for us. He was using some very slick drones - both had GPS functionality and one even had an Hasselblad camera built-in. I was pretty impressed.

He told me that he had issues with Huawei though - he had to use their App to control the drone and in order to use it, had to agree to allow Huawei access to and right to use all his imaging and GPS data. I didn't ask any questions and now regret it but I didn't want to distract him from his work - which was costing me a bomb. But I wish now that I had.

Does anyone know more about this?

I have to confess it sent a bit of a chill up the coccyx when I heard it.

Peter

[LewisM]

Install ANY app these days Peter and read their terms and conditions - I have seen it dozens of times from numerous app creators etc. Every time I install an app, Apple tells me what the app needs access to and rights to - GPS data, images, location data and so on ad infinitum.

It's not exclusive even remotely to Huawei.

As examples, on my phone, the following apps have asked for access to my camera and images:
eBay
Google Translate
Uber
Gmail
Chrome

Location / GPS data is used by:
Air Travel
App store
BOM Weather
Calendar
Camera
Chrome
Compass
XE Currency
Google and Apple Maps (no brainer )
News
Paypal
Safari
Siri
SkySafari
Speedometer
Stocard
Suncorp
Telstra
Lotto ( )
The Moon App
Uber
Voice Memos
Westpac

You get the idea. Huawei asking for access is far from unusual.

[sil (Steve)]

Originally Posted by LewisM

Huawei asking for access is far from unusual.

I completely disagree on that. ASKING for access is rare, so many apps and devices just access what they want without ever asking or respecting your answer. Best to assume your data is being used and sold to profit others without your consent regardless what device or operating system. Thats the whole point of cloud based solutions is to profit from the data you give them.

[pmrid (Peter)]

But consider why Huawei would INSIST on being able to access GPS and imagery from your drone - am I alone in my conspiracy theory mindset here? The idea of Huawei with all its connotations being able to - just as an example - access all drone footage taken within certain GPS coordinates - around major infrastructure etc. Given how active the chinese are in hacking and stealing IP and data via the internet, I just can't bring myself to put these thoughts aside.

I guess I'm just doing a Pavlov's Dog thing and reacting to the name rather than anything else.

Peter

[bojan]

Google maps were already mapped us in sufficient detail for possible sinister purpose...

[LewisM]

How quickly we forget Snowden’s warnings- he warned of US cyber intel, stuxnet, Cisco backdoors and shutdown algorithms embedded in tech. US accusing Huawei is a great diversion tactic - and a sham.

The only reason the USA is so fervently anti Huawei is competition. The US is hurriedly developing 5G to attempt to stranglehold the market. They know they can’t beat the Chinese so created the false flag of hacking/spying merely to force-implement US 5G technology, ergo giving the US the capability over it’s allies they claim the Chinese had.

I am far more concerned about Samsung products than Huawei .

[LewisM]

Originally Posted by bojan

Google maps were already mapped us in sufficient detail for possible sinister purpose...

Was speaking to one of the upper echelon of Electro Optical here in Canberra. He said fear looking up more than anything. New digital imagery can easily read newsprint from space (his analogy was reading the rim printing on a 5c piece from 25000 km).

US, China, Russia etc mapped every millimeter of the Earth years ago, in exquisite detail