New Zealand becomes the third member of Five Eyes to ban Huawei from the 5G network

New Zealand prohibits Chinese company Huawei, for reasons of national security, from providing equipment for next-generation mobile networks. She became the third member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance to take action against the gigantic telecommunication system based in Shenzen. -Gear maker.

This decision by New Zealand has made Canada and Britain the only members of Five Eyes not to have banned mobile phone companies from installing Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.'s 5G technology, despite the strong pressure from the United States. However, Britain has recently raised security concerns over China's telecommunication equipment to companies such as Huawei.

The United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are members of the Five Eyes Alliance, which shares intelligence to combat espionage, terrorism and terrorism. global crime.

Last August, Australia banned Huawei from providing 5G equipment, citing a threat to the security of its infrastructure. The United States also banned access to Huawei and lobbied their partners and telecommunications companies from allied countries to avoid Huawei equipment.

On Wednesday, one of New Zealand's intelligence agencies rejected the request of telecommunications service provider Spark New Zealand Ltd. to use the Huawei 5G hardware.

"I informed Spark that a significant security risk has been identified," Andrew Hampton, chief executive of New Zealand's Office of Public Safety, said Wednesday. This organization is the New Zealand equivalent of Canada's Communications Security Establishment (CSE).

Hampton and New Zealand's Minister of Intelligence Andrew Little refused to discuss the specific security risk badociated with clbadified intelligence. However, Little explained that 5G technology poses a greater risk to national security than conventional mobile technology.

"The main difference between 5G and conventional 4G and 3G technologies is that conventional technology has a basic infrastructure and then a peripheral technology, such as mobile towers, and they can actually be separate, but you can not do it with 5G technology, "he said. Each component of 5G technology, each component of the network is integrated and, therefore, access to a component can lead to access to the entire network. "

Under Chinese law, Chinese companies "must support, cooperate and collaborate in national intelligence work," as demanded by Beijing, and US and Canadian security experts warn that equipment produced by companies such as that Huawei could be compromised. on behalf of the ruling party in China.

It is unclear what security risk New Zealand has in mind. Earlier this month, however, the Australian newspaper, citing an unidentified source of national security, reported that the Chinese government had used Huawei to hack a foreign network, using the manufacturer's access codes. 39, telecommunication equipment. The hacked country has never been identified and Huawei has denied any involvement in espionage.

5G is the next step in cellular technology and will require mbadive infrastructure in countries to deliver the fastest download speeds promised.

Under pressure from Washington, the Canadian government announced that it was conducting a national security review to determine whether Canada should join other Five Eyes partners in banning Huawei.

On Wednesday, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale's office declined to comment on New Zealand's decision and whether Ottawa was aware of the specific security risk that led to the ban. The minister's office would also not indicate when Ottawa would decide to ban Huawei from banning 5G networks. Instead, all questions from The Globe and Mail were sent back to CSE's new Canadian Center for Cybersecurity.

"The CSE and the Cyber ​​Center continue to work closely with a wide range of partners and stakeholders – nationally and internationally – and will continue to contribute to the development of cybersecurity best practices that can be promoted in the future." interest in Canada's national and economic security. That includes New Zealand, "CSE spokesman Ryan Foreman said in a statement. "Of course, we are following developments on this topic. While the government plans to implement a 5G infrastructure in Canada, the expertise and experience of the Cyber ​​Center will be important in badessing cyber threats and risks, as well as providing advice on cyber security measures. mitigation possible. "

Conservative National Security Critic Pierre-Paul Hus said that there is no reason at this time for Canada's indecision about the need to follow the United States, Australia, and the United States. Zealand. "It's crystal clear. We must act. We must ban Huawei, "he said.

Scott Bradley, Vice President of Huawei Canada, told the Globe that Huawei is not a threat to national security and that "the highest priority of the company is – and has always been – the security and confidentiality of the networks. that we are helping to equip here in Canada. "

"Huawei Canada will continue to work with the Canadian government, carriers and other domestic stakeholders to take the necessary steps to ensure and protect the integrity of Canada's national telecommunications infrastructure, including the deployment of 5G technology," Bradley added.

In October, two members of the US Senate Intelligence Committee – high-ranking democrats Mark Warner and Republican Marco Rubio – wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asking him to exclude Huawei from the 5G technology provided to telecommunications. Canada. Senators warned Trudeau that allowing Huawei to enter a new era of wireless infrastructure in Canada could hamper information sharing between key allies and undermine cross-border telecommunications cooperation between US companies and Canadian.

The Wall Street Journal announced last week that Washington had launched a high-level outreach campaign among foreign allies, attempting to persuade Internet and wireless Internet service providers to avoid Internet access. Huawei equipment for national security reasons.

In Canada, two of the country's largest mobile operators – BCE and Telus – have yet to disclose whether US security officials have asked them to avoid Huawei's telecommunications equipment during construction. of their 5G mobile technology networks. Rogers Communications, for its part, says it has not been contacted.

BCE, Telus and, to a lesser extent, Rogers are using all Huawei equipment in their cellular networks. As Chinese society entered the Canadian market in recent years, operators have come to rely on it to stimulate more competitive prices. an area that requires constant investment.

In Canada and Britain, tests – funded by Huawei – are testing the company's equipment to detect possible back doors that could allow Beijing to spy on or disable systems. Last July, the UK government revealed that it had discovered technical and supply chain issues with equipment manufactured by Huawei, which exposed British telecommunication networks to new security risks. In October, the British government sent a letter to telecom companies in which it was checking to see if the country was too dependent on a single hardware supplier. The Financial Times reported that Huawei was the target.

Former directors of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service – Richard Fadden and Ward Elbad – and John Adams, the former CSE official, told The Globe in July that Ottawa is expected to keep Huawei out of 5G at Canada.

With Reuters files