Huawei represents elevated risk: expert

WELLINGTON: New Zealand may find it impossible to please two cherished allies and resolve the clash between national security requirements and trade interests, security analysts warn.

GCSB told Spark this week it could not use Huawei gear in its 5G network.

Cyber security expert Tom Uren, from the Australian Strategic Policy Unit, said Huawei represented an elevated risk because China was ‘‘voracious’’ when it came to cyber espionage, hoovering up government secrets and intellectual property.

Chinese companies were much more ‘‘beholden’’ to their government.

‘‘The rhetoric in China is about civilmilitary fusion and in the last couple of years they have enacted laws that say individuals and corporations must cooperate with national intelligence work.’’

Making the links between gov ernment and business explicit had fuelled international fears that China was out to steal other countries’ intellectual property.

In 2012 the company was excluded from Australia’s National Broadband Network.

Both the United States and Australia have banned Huawei from involvement in their 5G networks.

The British Government , which only belatedly realised the potential threat posed by Huawei, set up a cyber security testing centre instead.

Dr Uren said the country’s oversight reports had become ‘‘increasingly grim’’ over the past four years in the face of rising cyber attacks.

‘‘The chances that we could take that model and be happy with it in a year or two seems pretty remote.’’

Minister responsible for the GCSB Andrew Little denied the Huawei decision was because it was a Chinese company.

Spark had a chance to ‘‘mitigate’’ the risks identified, he said.

‘‘There’s a range of factors the GCSB considers that are classified, but what I can say is that the focus of the GCSB inquiry is the specific proposed technology that a New Zealand company wants to introduce. That’s what they look at, that’s how they make their assessment.’’

A United States Defence official, who declined to be named, said there was ‘‘no doubt that China has ulterior motives’’.

‘‘I would be concerned about any technology being turned over to an authoritarian state.

‘‘If the deal had gone ahead it would definitely be something we would want to discuss with the New Zealand Government.’’

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters declined to say whether there had been pressure from New Zealand’s Five Eyes allies. — RNZ