Topics

Venezuela’s president thinks American spies can’t hack Huawei phones

Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda

Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital, Elad Gil — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $600+ before prices rise.

Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda

Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise.

Most Popular

BMW, I am so breaking up with you

Murder at Burning Man turns Silicon Valley’s desert playground into a crime scene

Nvidia says two mystery customers accounted for 39% of Q2 revenue

Cracks are forming in Meta’s partnership with Scale AI

Mastodon says it doesn’t ‘have the means’ to comply with age verification laws

TransUnion says hackers stole 4.4 million customers’ personal information

Get ready, EV owners: Here come the dongles

Latest

Amazon

Apps

Biotech & Health

Climate

Cloud Computing

Commerce

Crypto

Enterprise

EVs

Fintech

Fundraising

Gadgets

Gaming

Google

Government & Policy

Hardware

Instagram

Layoffs

Media & Entertainment

Meta

Microsoft

Privacy

Robotics

Security

Social

Space

Startups

TikTok

Transportation

Venture

Events

Startup Battlefield

StrictlyVC

Newsletters

Podcasts

Videos

Partner Content

TechCrunch Brand Studio

Crunchboard

Venezuela’s president thinks American spies can’t hack Huawei phones Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai AM PDT · September 3, 2025 During a press conference on Monday, Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, showed off a Huawei smartphone that China’s President Xi Jinping gifted him, calling it “the best phone in the world,” and making a bold claim.

“The Americans can’t hack it, neither their spy planes, nor their satellites,” Maduro said.

The phone looked like a Mate X6, a foldable phone released

Obviously, nothing is impossible to hack, and even less so

A U.S. based vulnerability researcher told TechCrunch that because Huawei makes its own hardware, as well as its own mobile operating system — HarmonyOS — its devices are easier to hack.

“There’s bound to be many more mistakes in their brand-new code than in iOS and Android at this time,” said the researcher, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss sensitive issues.

HarmonyOS, which — like any software in the world — has had bugs and needs regular security updates. In the case of the Mate X6, Huawei promises monthly security patches, but also notes 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.”

Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital, Elad Gil — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $600+ before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | October 27-29, 2025 REGISTER NOW Last month alone, Huawei patched 60 bugs in HarmonyOS, 13 of which were classified as “high severity” bugs.

Huawei acknowledges that malware can get on its devices and has a page dedicated to helping customers who may have gotten their devices hacked.

Huawei did not respond to a request for comment.

There is a documented history of U.S. government hackers targeting Huawei. In 2014, documents leaked

“Many of our targets communicate over Huawei-produced products,” the NSA document said, according to The New York Times. “We want to make sure that we know how to exploit these products,” it added, to “gain access to networks of interest” around the world.

Even though that was in 2014, it is almost certain that the NSA, U.S. Cyber Command, and others have the mission to hack Huawei devices and find vulnerabilities in them for espionage purposes. There are likely U.S. government employees whose only job is to hack Huawei devices and systems. Earlier this year, the Chinese government accused the NSA of targeting Chinese critical infrastructure.

Topics

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai Senior

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai is a Senior

You can contact or verify outreach from Lorenzo

October 27-29, 2025 San Francisco Put your brand in front of 10,000+ tech and VC leaders across all three days of Disrupt 2025. Amplify your reach, spark real connections, and lead the innovation charge. Secure your exhibit space before your competitor does.Last day to book is September 5

Most Popular BMW, I am so breaking up with you Connie Loizos

Murder at Burning Man turns Silicon Valley’s desert playground into a crime scene Connie Loizos

Nvidia says two mystery customers accounted for 39% of Q2 revenue Anthony Ha

Cracks are forming in Meta’s partnership with Scale AI Maxwell Zeff Marina Temkin

Mastodon says it doesn’t ‘have the means’ to comply with age verification laws Sarah Perez

TransUnion says hackers stole 4.4 million customers’ personal information Zack Whittaker

Get ready, EV owners: Here come the dongles Tim De Chant

X LinkedIn Facebook Instagram youTube Mastodon Threads Bluesky TechCrunchStaffContact UsAdvertiseCrunchboard JobsSite Map Terms of ServicePrivacy PolicyRSS Terms of UseCode of Conduct TelsaAnthropicTelexKlarnaMrBeastTech LayoffsChatGPT © 2025 TechCrunch Media LLC.