Huawei ‘risk’ disputed
British intelligence agencies have found that Huawei equipment will be a ‘‘manageable risk’’ to their 5G networks, according to a Financial Times report.
This finding would damage United States efforts to persuade other countries that Huawei, a Chinese supplier of network equipment, is too dangerous to trust with infrastructure for the next-generation mobile network. New Zealand itself has seemingly been receptive to those arguments, with our own Government Communications and Security Bureau (GCSB) finding a ‘‘significant network security risk’’ in Spark’s proposal to use Huawei equipment for its 5G network.
That finding that has seen the proposal by Spark to use Huawei equipment halted for the time being, although the Government is at pains not to describe the situation as a ‘‘ban’’. Differing views between two of New Zealand’s largest security partners could prove a headache for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who is battling the perception that China’s relationship with New Zealand has been seriously damaged.
Australia has banned Huawei from its 5G networks and Canada is in the process of deciding whether it will allow it after heavy lobbying from the US. The three countries are part of the ‘‘Five Eyes’’ intelligence network along with New Zealand and Britain. But according to the Financial Times report, Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre has found there are ways to limit any risks from Huawei.
M16 head Alex Younger has indicated Britain’s position could be softer than America’s.
‘‘Everyone recognises that all countries are in different positions and we have the sovereign right to work through the answers to this,’’ Younger said at the Munich Security Conference. ‘‘It’s more complicated than in or out. It’s not inherently desirable that we have a monopolistic supplier of any of our critical national infrastructure.’’
Britain has long been more intertwined with Huawei than the US.
A Cyber Security Evaluation Centre, owned by Huawei but staffed by British intelligence staff, monitors the potential risk of Huawei gear used in critical infrastructure.
Former head of the British Government Communications Headquarters Robert Hannigan wrote in the Financial Times last week that British intelligence never found any evidence of malicious activity from the Chinese state being carried out by Huawei. Huawei has maintained it is simply a company based in China that is being unfairly disadvantaged.
The company has taken out multiple full-page ads in New Zealand newspapers arguing that ‘‘5G without Huawei is like New Zealand without rugby’’. Minister responsible for the GCSB Andrew Little was not very receptive. ‘‘We have decisions to make about New Zealand’s national security interests. That’s the only thing upon which we will make a decision,’’ Little said.
In China, the state-run Global Times newspaper published a story featuring several patriotic Chinese tourists who had supposedly decided not to visit New Zealand as they were offended by the Huawei decision.