Huawei’s network products and their use in the U.K.’s critical infrastructure do not jeopardise the country’s national security, concluded a government report this week.
To assuage concerns that the increasing use of its equipment by U.K. telcos posed a security risk, the Chinese vendor in 2010 opened the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) in Banbury, Oxfordshire. The facility was tasked with ensuring that the company’s kit could not be accessed by foreign agencies.
To make sure HCSEC does what it was set up to do, the government appointed an oversight board that reports to the U.K.’s national security advisor, and on Wednesday it published the results of its first annual assessment of HCSEC’s competence and independence.
"The oversight board concludes that in the year 2014-15 HCSEC fulfilled its obligations in respect of the provision of assurance that any risks to U.K. national security from Huawei’s involvement in the U.K.’s critical networks have been sufficiently mitigated," the report said.
Shenzhen-based Huawei has grown to become the world’s second-largest telco vendor after Ericsson, and it has done so despite being prevented from selling network equipment to operators in the U.S. on national security grounds. Of particular concern is founder Ren Zhengfei’s previous career in the People’s Liberation Army.
The company has also had to defend itself in the U.K. over government concerns about its role in critical national infrastructure (CNI).
A cyber security report published in June 2013 heavily criticised incumbent BT for using Huawei’s network products without first consulting ministers. Huawei hit back at the report, arguing that the work it carries out at HCSEC ensures its equipment is safe to use.
