[ISN] China policy could force foreign security firms out

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9182218/China_policy_could_force_foreign_security_firms_out

By Robert McMillan
IDG News Service
August 26, 2010

China is stepping up efforts to keep the security systems that protect 
its critical infrastructure in the hands of local firms, and that could 
be bad news for companies based outside the country.

China has started sending out inspectors to check for compliance with a 
little-known initiative called the Multi-Level Protection Scheme (MLPS), 
the Associated Press reported Wednesday. Introduced three years ago by 
China's Ministry of Public Security, it mandates that core products used 
by government and infrastructure companies such as banks and 
transportation must be provided by Chinese companies.

Over the past year, government inspectors have been telling some 
companies that they must switch to Chinese firewalls and other types of 
security technology, the AP said.

The development could force security vendors such as Cisco Systems and 
Symantec out of important parts of the growing market, or force them to 
partner with local businesses, said Stephen Kho, senior counsel with 
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, an international law firm based in 
Washington. "Right now, it seems to only affect the companies that are 
in the information security sector," he said.

[...]


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