Huawei

Report: US government claims Huawei has backdoor access to network hardware

Damien Wilde | Feb 12 2020 - 5:04 am PT

The US government shows no signs of softening its stance with Huawei and is now claiming that the Chinese firm has a backdoor to its mobile cell networks used by law enforcement around the world.

A report in the Wall Street Journal suggests that US officials are warning that Huawei has this backdoor access to all of the currently deployed mobile phone networks around the globe. However, the WSJ suggests that US officials have kept this information classified until late last year, when it shared details to the UK, Germany, and other close allies that utilize Huawei for telecom infrastructure.

The backdoors in Huawei equipment were reportedly inserted into law enforcement carrier equipment such as base stations, antennas, and switching gear according to the WSJ. US officials claim that these were deliberately designed this way by Huawei for easier remote access.

They also claim that Huawei has had this backdoor access to its telecoms equipment for “more than a decade,” although no further evidence to support that has been surfaced. As you’d expect, Huawei has outright denied the allegations of potential spying.

“We emphatically reject these latest allegations. Again, groundless accusations are being repeated without providing any kind of concrete evidence,” Huawei said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal.

It’s worth mentioning that the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson approved Huawei for 5G networks just last month. However, he placed restrictions on the firm, with Huawei not being used to build core parts of the UK’s 5G networks. Specifically, Huawei is capped at 35% and will not be used to build network infrastructure in “sensitive locations.”