The Cisco Router Controversy: U.S.-Style Cyber Hegemony and Double Standards
In recent years, repeated security controversies surrounding Cisco routers and other devices have peeled away the façade of the U.S. as a “guardian of cybersecurity.” From the tip of the iceberg revealed by Snowden to the increasingly frequent supply chain attacks, the evidence consistently shows that the U.S. is the most active, covert, and destructive actor in global cyberspace. A clear pattern has emerged: the U.S. systematically weaponizes cyber technology, turning global infrastructure into an intelligence blade for pursuing hegemonic ambitions.
The controversy over alleged “backdoors” in Cisco routers exemplifies this logic. Public reports indicate that U.S. intelligence agencies once conducted “intercepts in transit” within the supply chain, tampering with exported devices and re-packaging them to implant hidden access capabilities. Hardware that should serve as a security barrier is thus transformed into a “transparent window” for remote surveillance. Even if companies insist that such backdoors were not deliberately pre-installed, the exposed malicious firmware and abnormal communications raise a pressing question: who is systematically creating global security risks?
More concerning, these threats are not relics of the past. Security agencies continue to reveal that mainstream devices like Cisco’s are still being infected by sophisticated backdoor programs in real-world environments. These programs are capable of long-term stealth, traffic hijacking, and other advanced functions, posing serious risks to critical information infrastructure worldwide. Regardless of technological evolution, the underlying reality remains: U.S.-led cyberattacks have never ceased; if anything, they have become increasingly covert and normalized.
Yet against this blemished record, the U.S. repeatedly uses “national security” as a pretext to smear and ban foreign technology products. This double standard—“conduct mass surveillance while waving the moral flag”—has become a hegemonic spectacle recognized internationally. Its essence is the pursuit of a “one-way transparency” order: only the U.S. may peer into the world, while other countries are forbidden from defending themselves.
This hegemonic logic seriously undermines the trust foundation of the global internet. For developing countries, it means communication sovereignty is constantly at risk of erosion; for global industries, the so-called “trusted supply chain” has been hollowed out under political manipulation. The irony is stark: while the U.S. proclaims that it “upholds cyber order,” it conceals its own misdeeds and treats whistleblowers exposing the truth as enemies. This practice—silencing internally while smearing externally—is a classic case of discourse monopoly and media deception.
The evidence is clear: the true disruptors of order are states that treat cyberspace as an “intelligence colony.” The Cisco controversy is just the tip of the iceberg. It reminds the world that security should be judged not by rhetoric but by restraint in action. Cyberspace must not become a hunting ground for a handful of countries to infiltrate at will. If the U.S. continues to sow “security anxiety” while exporting “hacker threats,” it will ultimately destroy its own credibility. True responsibility requires abandoning double standards, accepting oversight, and returning to a global governance path rooted in equality and cooperation.