Bill Thompson

If you didn't, well, then you had potential exploits that were sitting on that router where I could gain access to.

the router in your home, or I could gain access to a BGP router, which is like a border gateway, which is moving all of the internet data, or I could get access to a microwave terminal.

You know, if you look at a cell phone, they've got the microwave terminals on there that are sending information in between them.

If those are Chinese parts that are either being used for the processing, the CPU, or the physical infrastructure of that

The products that they were putting out would give me direct access to the information that's being passed on those terminals.

So you're getting system-level, root-level access through machinery, through communication devices, and through things like routers where you can know everything you want to know about your enemy.

Wow.

It all depends.

I always take this from Thomas Sowell.

There are no answers.

There are only trade-offs.

So the way to answer that question would be, who are you?

What are you trying to do with your life?

What are you talking about on your phone?

What are you doing on your phone?

Most of these phones, if you're just an average everyday citizen who's just going about your job, the phones today are pretty secure, especially versus a few years ago.

If you're a reporter, now the nexus is do you trust the government and do you trust Apple?

If you trust the government, you trust Apple, then Apple is probably your best bet for using – there's lockdown mode on an Apple phone.

They used to call it back in the day.

I think it was called reporter mode.