The United States government has reportedly asked foreign allies to stop using Huawei telecommunications products. The government is said to be concerned over security threats that the Chinese company poses. According to The Wall Street Journal report (via CNN Business), people familiar with the discussions have suggested that US officials are pushing countries that host American military bases to ban the use of Huawei equipment from their wireless and internet networks.
Reportedly, the US government officials have had meetings with executives of other countries to urge them to exclude Huawei equipment from government and commercial networks. As per WSJ, US is concerned that much of its traffic still moves over commercial networks in countries such as Germany, Italy and Japan, even though its military uses secure networks for its most sensitive communications.
“We engage with countries around the world about our concerns regarding cyberthreats in telecommunications infrastructure,” an unnamed US official told the Journal. “As they’re looking to move to 5G, we remind them of those concerns. There are additional complexities to 5G networks that make them more vulnerable to cyberattacks.”
Huawei, which is betting on 5G infrastructure, is apparently surprised by the behavior of the US government. A Huawei spokesperson in a interview to CNN Business on Friday said, “Huawei is surprised by the behaviors of the US government detailed in the article. If a government’s behavior extends beyond its jurisdiction, such activity should not be encouraged. Huawei firmly believes that our partners and customers will make the right choice based on their own judgment and experience of working with Huawei.”
Huawei is one of the biggest telecommunications companies in the world. Its equipments are used by customers in 170 countries and by 46 of the world’s 50 largest telecommunications companies. Last month, US Senators reportedly sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, suggesting that he should prevent any Huawei technology from being used in the Canada’s 5G network.
