There’s been a lot of focus on a Congressional committee that concluded Huawei Technologies and ZTE couldn’t be trusted to supply network equipment to the U.S. government. But according to Reuters, that wasn’t the only report being done in Washington.
This story says the White House quietly reviewed the security risks of any technology supplier to U.S. telecom companies and found no evidence China-based Huawei had spied for its home country. But, Huawei was considered risky because its software had vulnerabilities that might be used by hackers.
The report is interesting because the Canadian government has no objection to Huawei and ZTE selling equipment to this country’s major telecommunications carriers, who supply some connectivity to federal departments. It has also not — yet — forbid the two companies from bidding to supply gear to the planned secure federal single pipe telecom network.
The Reuters report quotes a former CIA analyst saying Washington has a more general fear of what might happen if the Chinese government asks Huawei for help in cyber spying on other countires, which is affecting its attitude towards the manufacturer.
One of the difficulties Canadian policy-makers face is that in the spying world no country’s hands are clean. One thing is certain, though: As the U.S. government ratchets up fear against Huawei, it will spread north.