It is supremely ironic. A rogue national leader with the stroke of a pen, dictates that its companies will expose a foreign company’s end users to cyberattacks. This is the net effect of denying security patches or operating system updates pursuant to Trump’s order. In the US Great Rogue Leader’s bizarro world, this is the very behavior that he claims makes his actions necessary. In fact, this Trump malware attack is worse because of the mass exposure to exploits.

The actions here deserve strong rebuke by other nations, industry associations, and companies pursuing the 5G market. In the 5G ecosystem, the most significant developments are software based, and Trump has dealt a devastating blow to the ability of US companies to pursue those global markets. Indeed, the behavior is so patently harmful, that it may well represent a kind of retribution against Silicon Valley.

What Trump’s actions are likely to induce are increased Balkanization and insulation measures worldwide against his unlawful behavior where international accords mean nothing. He is today unchecked and unrestrained by neither the US Constitutional System nor public international law. Global collaboration has been replaced by aberrant bilateral bullying, and US commitments mean nothing.

Trump’s Loser Touch for 5G

Given the profound ignorance of the Trump Administration on technical matters and failure to engage in global collaborative activity, the US was unlikely to get a boost in the 5G marketplace. What was perhaps unexpected by US vendors was getting their marketplaces trashed.

The unfortunate result of this Trump behavior is that few if any nations will trust the US in the future. Most countries will demand that US companies create fully separated subsidiaries and facilities for their national markets. Countries will seek to prevent Trump software malware or denial of service attacks—where on a whim, he launches adverse cyber actions. The counter-actions include developing alternative sources of code, data centres, network resolver and discovery services and other support capabilities—that will have the long term effect of freezing US vendors out of large markets worldwide. Layered on top of the loss of the largest US VLSI component supplier markets and likely retributions in product markets, it is all part of Trump’s disastrous 5G loser touch.

The author is reflecting on concerns at last week’s international 5G security meetings in France enhanced with additional perspective from a remote village in Provence.