ChinaByte: WAPI and WPA Become Optional as HotSpot Owners Refuse to Check Security Options?

(charles liu) wrote in message . com...
(Dionaea muscipula) wrote in message . com...
On April 9, 2004, Reporter Feng Dagang for China Byte wrote the
article which provides a peek into the wireless local area network
reality in China. Read his article in
http://www.chinabyte.com/homepage/21.../1785828.shtml

Wonderful article.

Exactly! This wonderful article shows what China really wanna do by
the imposed WAPI standard..... Hehe.

So what's the big fuss? So much for Intel's problem
being technical. I think it all boils down to Intel wanting to
dominate the market, and does not want to incur the cost of doing
business in China. So what's the solution? Pressure China to subjugate
her sovereign right to regulate her own bandwidth within her sovereign
territory. And people say imperialism is dead?

Intel wanna dominate the market? Funny. If that's the case, when
Intel announced not to back China's WAPI standar, what happen is other
competitor rushes to fill its vacancy. It don't happen.

The technical problem on Intel side is
--- Intel don't wanna share its IP with Chinese competitors by
the mandatory licensing agreement from CCP, and
-- the time is too short for Intel to finish the licensing
agreements, design the new circuit, integrate it with the
exisiting Centrino chips, and TESTING them.

Charles Liu again confused "Intel don't wanna support China WAPI
standard" with "Intel forcing China to use the standard of Intel".

His observations in hotspots in current China lead to the following
speculations:
a. On June 1, 2004, the new rule on China's WAPI goes into effect.
b. People can no longer buy Intel Centrino products in China.

There are hosts of other chipsets that do not have the "problem" with
wireless component so tightly coupled, it can only provide legacy
support for 5 wifi standards, but not a 6th. Centrino ain't the only
game in town before or after 6/1.

True. At that time probably the only game in town are Chinese stuff.
The protectionism works well as expected, right?

c. But foreigners can still bring in their Centrino based
laptops and use them in China.

I don't think the law ever grandfathered existing equipment, or
outlawed 208.11b. Just import equipment have to support WAPI after
6/1. For example wireless equipment that supports both 11b AND WAPI
are qualified solely based on it's support for WAPI. Heck, even
equipment with hidden support for Magic Lantern or Carnivor can be
imported, as long as it supports WAPI.

Charles Liu obviously love hardwares which don't have "legal"
supports.....

d. And all existing hardwares not compatible with China's new
WAPI are still being in wide use in China.

And they will continue to be used even after 6/1, since the rule only
applys to equipment import after 6/1, and does not affect existing
equipment. Is that why Intel is building a plant in China?
Domestically produced equipment might enjoy some exception.

And if PRC officials inspect hotspots every day to make sure they turn
on their security options, these existing hardwares become "wired
LAN". Haha.


In other words, China's new rule on the WAPI standard could end up
with a common scenario in China -- "the rulers have their policy and
we ordinary people have our own strategy (to circumvent around their
policy)".

And people doing business abroad needs to be keenly aware of local
culture/custom, and look ahead of obsticles with flexibility and
willingness to inovate.

Sure. It should be great when a Chinese tourist goes to another
country, and he finds his digital camera don't work, cuz Chinese use
another set of battery and memory card not used elsewhere. He finds
his laptops don't work wireless, cuz China has a new standard. He
finds his PDA is illegal, because it emits too much EM radiation......

And the samething happens to foreigners visit China. Hehe, the great
show for 2008 summer games.....


An outline of Feng's article:
- In Beijing, almost no hotspot owners will enforce the security
rule so that users must opt for security settings.

So "security by ignoring security" is better than WAPI's "security by
ignorance"? Get real.

Get real. China's problem is imposing a WAPI standard which no
hotspot owners use. This is called the Chinese proverb "resisting the
bandits in the front door with the back door open".

Pretty good security concept...... :^)))))

A manager
told the reporters that by forcing a security setting, many
laptop users can no longer receive wireless network connections.

That's a very common problem in US even a year or two ago. So Chinese
IT manager's short sightedness is an excuse for China not to innovate
in wireless security? See below the "30% enables security" quote to
get a feel of how good current security level is. 11b is full of
holes, then you have to add bunch of fractured/competing security
standards *everybody's grandmother* is pushing for as THE STANDARD.

Nap..... China wanna boost her wireless network security? Fine, but
when no hotspot owners enabled that, what's the difference for the new
WAPI standard and the existing IEEE 802.11* standards? Why making the
others illegal if you don't enforce them?

So what's the problem with supporting WAPI? Don't want to pay royalty
for access to 1 billion emerging market? That's like wanting to get
into Disneyland without paying the new ticket price.

Hehe, to play in that field you gotta show your competitors what's in
your brains. That's Chiense way of protectionism. Very smart.....


And these users believe connectivity is more important than
security.
- In theory China's WAPI only modifies the encryption part in the
current 802.11 standards, so after June 1st the existing Centrino
products face compatibility problems.

Again, Centrino already have legacy support for hosts of security
standards, including Intel's own standard it pushed for and failed. To
add support for WAPI, as an earlier article have pointed out, requires
good design practice adoption.

Itel don't have to share its IP with competitors for these standards
cuz they are open.

I can't imagine Centrino's design is so poor, it can't handle another
security layer on top of the 5-6 it already supports. How hard can it
be to update the firmware? Aadd some memeory space and firmware logic,
and provide driver and utility for OS?

Itel don't have to share its IP with competitors for these standards
cuz they are open. This is the fact Charles Liu again and again
refuse to face.....

Decoupled design and standard integration practices will protect
everyone's IP from being forcible shared, and no one is so dumb that
they would remove 11b from their current design and replace it with
WAPI, causing their product to only sell in parts of China's market
and no part in the rest of the world.

Itel don't have to share its IP with competitors for these standards
cuz they are open. This is the fact Charles Liu again and again
refuse to face.....


I'm sure people have see printe circuit boards, ever wonder why
sometimes they look like they are missing a chip? Because that part is
not needed, or reserved for another use not called for currently.
People's been doing stuff like for decades.

Haha, Charles Liu think dealing with PCB is like doing nanometer
silicons....

And Intel is saying "Centrino can only provide legacy for 5 platform,
but not 6 - so we can't add WAPI."

Where did Intel say that?

However, if the hotspot
owners do not enforce the security settings, then both current
existing WLAN hardwares and new WAPI products can be used without
problems.
- The monitoring programs installed in cybercafe computers, which
were mandated by PRC laws to monitor people's online activites,
are installed there without being activated. If one day they
are activated, that is because the authority will have an
inspection on that day.
- Inside China almost all hotspot owners disable the security
settings. Outside China, approximately only 30% of hotspot
owners enabled it. That means China WAPI products will not
encounter any problems when used abroad for the 70% hotspots.

It's 70% not because WAPI/11b dual-platform device not being
compatible with rest of the world, it'll be cause by people's OS
configuration and not having the right client software. WAPI or not,
everyone faces the same problem.

Then why enforcing a new China WAPI standard to keep foreign chips
away when no hotspot owners use it?

- So everyone is happy, except the Chinese hotspot owners who
need to pay something to upgrade their hotspots for China
WAPI compatibility, but they will disable the WAPI anyway.

So what was the big bruhaha? Oh, Intel wants to get into Dislandland
with an old ticket.

Nah. Now the Chinese Disneyland says if you wanna come here and play,
show me your memory in your brains.