UK Does A U-Turn On Huawei, Raises New Concerns About Chinese Security Threats

Going back on its earlier stand that Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei posed no risk to national security, the United Kingdom has now raised new concerns relating to cybersecurity, reports The Wall Street Journal. A government review of the Chinese manufacturer’s engineering found several shortcomings exposing the UK to new cybersecurity risks.

Huawei meanwhile welcomed the government-led oversight panel, stated that it had acknowledged the flaws identified and was working on resolving them. UK has consistently supported Huawei’s growth in the country, even pointing out obstacles to the company’s growth in the island nation.

In contrast, the United States has labelled Huawei and its products a threat to national security, with a 2012 Congressional report saying that China could use Huawei to spy on the country and also disable its communications networks.

While Huawei has consistently maintained that it doesn’t spy on behalf of the Chinese government, a stand it has maintained along with another Shezen-based firm ZTE, the United States government under President Donald Trump has imposed a series of restrictions on both firms, with the Department of Commerce on US shipments by the latter.

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NSCS) – which conducted the review – has said the there were two security issues in Huawei equipment. The review said that Huawei didn’t test the latest version of its software and that it was using third-party software in its operating systems. The NSCS has said that it would work with Huawei to address the concerns.