[ad_1]
China's Huawei Technologies logo shines in the sun at the telecommunications giant's headquarters in Düsseldorf, Germany on February 18, 2019. REUTERS / Wolfgang Rattay
February 18, 2019
By Jack Stubbs and Kanishka Singh
(Reuters) – British security officials are not in favor of Huawei 's total ban on national telecommunication networks, despite US claims that the Chinese company and its products could be used by Beijing for the first time. espionage, have informed people.
Huawei, the world's largest producer of telecommunications equipment, is being closely monitored by the West over its relations with the Chinese government and allegations of espionage, under which the United States is demanding their allies not to use his technology.
Although no evidence has been publicly produced and Huawei has denied these accusations, the charges have led several Western countries to restrict their access to their markets.
"We are not in favor of a complete ban. It's not that simple, "one of the sources told Reuters on Monday after the Financial Times released a report Sunday that Britain had decided to limit the risks associated with the use of Huawei equipment in 5G networks.
The FT cited two sources close to what it called a conclusion of the National Cybersecurity Council (NCSC), which said last year that technical and supply chain issues with Huawei's equipment had exposed the networks. telecommunication services to new security risks. Huawei had no immediate comment.
Any decision to allow Huawei to participate in the construction of next-generation 5G networks would be closely monitored by other countries, due to Britain's joining the Five Eyes intelligence sharing group with the United States. United States.
Britain is an important market for Huawei and last month, Vodafone, the world's second largest mobile operator, announced the suspension of the deployment of its equipment in the central networks until Western governments grant the Chinese company a full security clearance.
Other operators in Europe, including BT in Great Britain and Orange in France, have already removed equipment from Huawei or taken measures to limit future use.
Two sources said the NCSC did not think it was necessary to completely ban Huawei from UK networks, believing it could continue to manage risk by testing products in a special laboratory overseen by intelligence agents.
Both sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said that this position was in line with public statements made by the NCSC and the UK authorities.
"As the July HCSEC Supervisory Board made clear, the NCSC is concerned about Huawei's engineering and safety capabilities. We have outlined the improvements we expect from the company, said a spokesman for the NCSC Monday.
TRUST MEASURES
Those familiar with the issue said that the next NCSC report on Huawei's position in Britain would criticize the slow response to the issues raised in last year's report and detail the tense relations with the British authorities. .
The report, which should be published in the coming weeks, does not in itself define government policy.
The results of a government review of the British telecommunications infrastructure are expected later in the year and will include recommendations on the management of security risks, including in future 5G networks.
Australia, a member of Five Eyes, banned Huawei from supplying 5G hardware, while New Zealand announced Monday that it would conduct its own independent risk assessment of using Huawei hardware in 5G networks .
Huawei has set up security labs in Britain and Germany to boost confidence that its equipment does not contain "back doors" for Chinese intelligence services.
He also proposed to build a cybersecurity center in Poland, where the authorities arrested a Huawei Chinese employee and a former Polish security official.
Last week, Alex Younger, head of the British intelligence service MI6, said the situation was more complicated than being asked if Britain was trying to manage the risks perceived to be related to Huawei rather than simply banning them. .
Younger also told reporters in Munich that it was not desirable that "any important element of the national infrastructure be provided by a supplier under monopoly".
(Report by Jack Stubbs in London and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru, additional report by Guy Faulconbridge, written by Jack Stubbs and Georgina Prodhan, edited by David Evans, Sandra Maler and Alexander Smith)
[ad_2]
Source link