Deloitte And KPMG Ask Employees To Carry Burner Phones When Traveling To Hong Kong

In a further sign that U.S.-Sino relations are just fine and dandy under President Biden, some of the world's largest consulting companies like Deloitte and KPMG are now asking their employees to use burner phones when traveling to Hong Kong.

McKinsey consultants are also being instructed to use a second phone when traveling to Hong Kong, a new Financial Times report revealed. As a result, some people are reluctant to visit the area. “People are not prepared to come here,” one source told FT. 

FT makes light of the fact that in 2020, Beijing implemented a comprehensive national security law in Hong Kong, marking a significant move to tighten its grip on the previously semi-independent region.

As a result, the U.S. withdrew Hong Kong's special trade status, citing that the territory no longer maintained enough autonomy to justify different treatment from mainland China, which has also recently enhanced its data protection and anti-espionage regulations.

James Zimmerman, a partner at Perkins Coie in Beijing, told FT: “With much talk [about] national security issues, the general feeling is that it is important to be cautious in Hong Kong as well." 

One anonymous cybersecurity expert that works with these consulting firms added: “We have been recommending for several years that clients treat the risk of being in Hong Kong as the same as mainland China. I think what you’re seeing is that message sinking in now.”

They said there is “a range of risks, up to and including the risk of infiltration by a state-backed hacker.”

Not all Big Four firms enforce policies on carrying separate devices for business. PwC confirmed it doesn't have such a policy, while EY, despite declining to comment, appears not to have one either, the report said.

The practice by certain companies contrasts with Hong Kong's efforts to promote itself as a global financial hub. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority recently held a finance conference, attended by top executives like Goldman Sachs' David Solomon and Morgan Stanley's James Gorman.

Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee tried to emphasize the region's unique 'one country, two systems' approach at the event.

Maybe they should have called it the 'one country, two phones when traveling' approach...