Circa 2006 I saw a person who we speculated could be a Chinese spy. Never saw the person again. Severed ties with the person who brought that Chinese individual into our very small circle of acquaintances.
Afterward, I began to speculate out loud to spouse anon that the volume of Chinese-made electronics pouring into America might be compromised and might contain spyware.
Apparently I was right. My speculation was based on motive, means and opportunity. I didn't have any way to analyze the supply chain and had no knowledge of how the devices were manufactured or tested. It was just an extension of my regular advanced technology duties to speculate about where each new technology might lead or what opportunities it might present.
The Elemental hack is insidious: instructions inserted into the instruction stream that cause the device to listen for and install additional malware from anonymous internet servers. Very small chips masquerading as innocuous components. Detectable by observing the compromised system's behavior … if you knew to watch the system and observe ALL of its comms.
CHINA CHINA CHINA.