Huawei row: the UK will let a Chinese company help it build its 5G network

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The government approved the supply of equipment by the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei to the UK's new 5G data network, despite warnings of a security risk.

There has been no formal confirmation, but the Daily Telegraph reports that Huawei will help build some "non-essential" parts.

The United States wants its intelligence group allies "Five Eyes" – United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – to exclude society.

Huawei denied that his job poses risks of espionage or sabotage.

But Australia has already indicated that it is standing side by side with Washington – which has raised "serious concerns about Huawei's obligations to the Chinese government and the danger that this poses to the integrity of the government." telecommunications networks in the United States and elsewhere ".

Cybernetic threats are on the agenda of the covert Five Eyes Alliance at a security conference in Glasgow.

A spokesman for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sports said that he was reviewing the supply of equipment for the 5G network and that he would report in soon as possible.

Digital Minister Margot James responded to news about Huawei tweeting: "Despite contrary leaks from the Cabinet, it remains to make a final decision on the management of threats to the telecommunications infrastructure."

Huawei, which already supplies equipment used in the UK's existing mobile networks, has consistently denied allegations that it will be controlled by the Chinese government.

He said he was awaiting the government's official announcement on the UK's plans for 5G, but was "delighted that the UK continues to take an evidence-based approach" , adding that he would continue to cooperate with the government and the industry.

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Ciaran Martin, head of the National Cyber ​​Security Center – who oversees Huawei's current work in the UK – told BBC Radio 4's Today program that a framework would be put in place to ensure that the 5G network is "safe enough".

Asked about the risk of conflict between members of the Five Eyes Alliance, he added: "Over the last decade, different approaches have been adopted within Five Eyes and the broader alliance between West and Huawei as well. "

5G is the next (fifth) generation of mobile Internet connectivity, promising much faster data download and download speeds, wider coverage, and more stable connections.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Huawei's participation in the 5G network would include contributing to the construction of antenna parts or other infrastructure.

Such a decision would mean that Huawei would not provide equipment intended to be used in what is called the "cores" of a mobile network – where tasks such as checking IDs of a mobile network are not allowed. devices and the determination of the routing of voice calls and data take place.

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According to Gordon Corera, the BBC's security correspondent, the decision to involve Huawei was reportedly made by the ministers at a meeting of the government's national security council on Tuesday.

Secretaries of Home Affairs, Defense and Foreign Affairs raised concerns during the talks, chaired by Premier Theresa May.

Analysis

Gordon Corera, BBC Security Correspondent

The decision on Huawei is one of the most important long-term decisions of the government on national security and has always been controversial.

5G will underlie our daily lives in ways that are difficult to predict. Does allowing a Chinese company to build these networks run the risk of being spied on or even extinguished?

This is the concern of Washington and other critics who wanted society to be excluded.

But deciding to ban Huawei's entire network would have risked slowing the development of 5G and upset China.

The UK believes it has experience in managing risks posed by Huawei and that it can continue to do so in the future.

But a senior retired intelligence official recently told me that his views on Huawei's management had changed.

In the past, he said, he felt that the risk management policy had been sufficient. But now he was less sure.

The reason was that it was not a change of vision of what society could do. Rather, it was a risk to close allies, namely the Five Eyes and the United States.

Tom Tugendhat, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs tweeted allowing Huawei to build part of the UK's 5G infrastructure would "cast doubt on our ability to protect data and erode the essential trust in #FiveEyes cooperation".

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Speaking to the Today program, Tugendhat said it was hard to distinguish between the core and the non-core in a 5G network.

He added that the proposals still raised concerns, adding that 5G implied an "Internet system that could really connect everything, so that the distinction between non-core and core is much more difficult to establish".