14 Oct 2012

The Threat From Huawei, espionage and cyberwar

A Congressional report due on Monday and a '60 Minutes' story about it Sunday night are putting the alleged threat to U.S. information technology networks from Chinese telecom giant Huawei in the spotlight.
The report from the House Intelligence Committee, which has been studying Huawei, says the company may have violated U.S. laws and poses a security threat to the country.
The report comes after nearly a year of investigation by the committee into the activities of both Huawei and another big Chinese telecom company, ZTE.
The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday night that the report will recommend that U.S. regulators block acquisitions or mergers involving either Huawei or ZTE. It also says the government shouldn't use equipment made by them and that American companies should avoid them.
Committee chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan, in an interview that appeared on "60 Minutes" on Sunday said, "Find another vendor if you care about your intellectual property, if you care about your consumers' privacy, and you care about the national security of the United States of America."
Huawei, the world's largest telecom equipment maker, has its U.S. R&D center in Santa Clara and its U.S. headquarters in Plano, Texas.
The company was founded in 1987 by CEORen Zhengfei, an engineer who was formerly in China's People's Liberation Army and was employed by the army from 1974 to 1983.
The company has repeatedly denied it is a security threat and is reportedly considering a U.S. IPO.
It issued the following statement about the congressional report and TV story:
“Huawei is a globally trusted and respected company doing business in almost 150 markets with over 500 operator customers, including nationwide carriers across every continent save Antarctica. The security and integrity of our products are world proven. Those are the facts today. Those will still be the facts next week, political agendas aside."

 http://cyberwarzone.com/video-60-minutes-threat-huawei-espionage-and-cyberwar