UK report highlights risks to telecom networks from Huawei equipment

A British government report concludes that shortcomings on the part of Chinese manufacturer Huawei are creating risks for telecom networks in the United Kingdom. Huawei is a major supplier of equipment for those networks.

The report was prepared by a body that oversees the so-called Huawei Cyber ​​Security Evaluation Center, or Hcsec. Reuters explains that this center was created in 2010 to address potential security risks to national infrastructure. For example, the Hcsec monitors all Huawei equipment. The supervisory body reports annually on the activities of the Hcsec. According to Reuters, this is the first year in which the report questions the guarantees the center can offer. For example, it concludes that Hcsec can only offer ‘limited warranty’, which amounts to a major change, according to a Reuters source.

The report itself identifies several shortcomings, including the finding that Huawei uses third-party software that plays a critical security role, but is insufficiently monitored. Also, the long-term support for the software, which is used in various components, would end in 2020, while the support promised by Huawei promises a later end of life time. Another problem is that researchers would not have enough opportunities to research source code.

Huawei told Reuters that the report concludes that Hcsec can operate independently and that there are areas for improvement in its own development process. “We are grateful for this feedback and will address the issues. Security remains Huawei’s top priority and we will continue to improve our development processes and risk management systems.”

The report’s conclusions come at a time when Huawei is under fire in the US. In February, for example, the American intelligence services advised against consumers to buy equipment from Huawei and ZTE because of risks to national security. The US government also wants to stop using the equipment.