Huawei espionage

China’s Huawei faces new setbacks in Europe’s telecom market
By KELVIN CHAN

In this Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018 photo, an information board for employees' shuttle bus is on display near the Huawei office building at its research and development centre in Dongguan in south China's Guangdong province. The U.S. dispute with China over a ban on tech giant Huawei is spilling over to Europe, the company’s biggest foreign market, where some countries are also starting to shun its network systems over data security concerns. Some European governments and telecom companies are following the U.S.’s lead in questioning whether using Huawei for vital infrastructure for mobile networks could leave them exposed to snooping by the Chinese government. 

LONDON — The U.S. dispute with China over a ban on tech giant Huawei is spilling over to Europe, the company’s biggest foreign market, where some countries are also starting to shun its network systems over data security concerns.
Some European governments and telecom companies are following the U.S.’s lead in questioning whether using Huawei for vital infrastructure for mobile networks could leave them exposed to snooping by the Chinese government.
Bans in Europe could significantly increase the financial pressures on Huawei. 

They would also cost Europe tens of billions of dollars as the region looks to build up “5G” networks, which are meant to support a vast expansion in internet-connected things, from self-driving cars to factory robots and remote surgery.
“Europe is still divided over Huawei, but the trendline is moving in a fairly clear direction” as the U.S. exerts pressure on allies to block it, said Thorsten Benner, director of the Berlin-based Global Public Policy Institute think tank.
Geopolitical tensions over Huawei intensified after its chief financial officer, who is also the daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested Dec. 1 in Canada in connection with U.S. accusations that the company violated restrictions on sales of American technology to Iran.
Huawei has been blocked in the U.S. since 2012, when a House Intelligence Committee report found it was a security risk and recommended that the government and private companies stop buying its network equipment.
Germany’s Deutsche Telekom said last week it “takes the global discussion about the security of network elements from Chinese manufacturers very seriously.” 

The company said it uses multiple companies to build its network, including Ericsson, Nokia and Cisco.
“Nevertheless, we are currently reevaluating our procurement strategy,” the company said.
The statement is significant because until recently it had been one of Huawei’s “biggest cheerleaders” based on its cheap and reliable equipment, said Benner.
It came shortly after Alex Younger, the director of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6, said in a speech that Britain needs “to decide the extent to which we are going to be comfortable with Chinese ownership of these technologies,” according to local media reports.
At about the same time, mobile provider British Telecom said it was removing Huawei equipment from key parts of its current 3G and 4G networks as part of an internal policy not to use it for core infrastructure, which will also apply to 5G networks.
The British government-run center that tests the company’s equipment and software this summer identified “shortcomings in Huawei’s engineering processes that have exposed new risks” in U.K. networks. 

Norway’s telecom ministry said it was considering clarifying requirements from network operators, without being more specific.
Belgium’s cybersecurity agency is reportedly considering a ban on Huawei. 

And the Czech Republic’s prime minister ordered his government office on Tuesday to stop using Huawei mobile phones, after the national cybersecurity agency warned that products by Huawei and another Chinese telecom company, ZTE, pose “a security threat.”
The European Union’s head of technology policies, Andrus Ansip, said “we have to be worried” about possible security risks from Huawei when asked about the company’s role in European 5G and driverless car projects.
Huawei, founded in 1987 by a former military engineer, denies accusations it’s controlled by China’s ruling Communist Party or designs equipment to facilitate eavesdropping. 

The Europe, Middle East and Africa market is Huawei’s second biggest after China, accounting for 27 percent of its nearly $90 billion revenue last year. 

Executives said the company has now signed contracts with 25 telecom carriers for commercial or test use of 5G and shipped more than 10,000 5G base stations.
The rollout of 5G networks is expected to take a decade. 

As technologies advance, the amount of data flowing between machines is set to surge, prompting governments to increasingly view telecom networks as strategic national assets.
Not everyone is endorsing quick action to ban Huawei.
The CEO of the French telecom company Orange, Stephane Richard, said last week his company wouldn’t use Huawei gear for sensitive parts of its network because of “messages of prudence” from French authorities. 

Excluding Huawei won’t be easy, analysts said.
“It’s not like there’s some cheaper alternative,” said Paul Triolo, head of geotechnology practice at the Eurasia Group. 

“Ericsson and Nokia don’t produce the whole spectrum” of equipment, referring to the Scandinavian companies that are the only non-Chinese competitors.
Huawei has thrived in major European markets like Germany and Britain because their telecom industries wanted to ensure there were multiple equipment suppliers to avoid relying on one.
“So if you’re asking them to remove a major vendor from their markets, it’s going to be difficult,” Triolo said.
German companies won’t be happy if they can’t use Huawei because their costs will go up and it will delay rolling out 5G networks, which will initially rely on existing 4G infrastructure for which Huawei is already a major supplier, said Benner.
But German decisions are also likely to influence those by smaller countries that are part of the German industrial manufacturing supply chain, such as Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“They’ll all wake up if Germany takes a decision and worries about the security of its infrastructure,” said Benner.

EVIL COMPANY: BRITAIN VOICES GRAVE CONCERNS OVER CHINA'S HUAWEI

The Chinese technology giant has defended its ambitions in the face of global fears that it serves as a Trojan horse for Beijing's security apparatus.

AFP

The defence secretary has become the first cabinet minister to speak out against the telecoms giant Huawei amid fears of Chinese spying.

LONDON - British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has warned of his "very deep concerns" about Chinese technology giant Huawei being involved in the use of 5G on Britain's mobile network, The Times reported Thursday.
"I have grave, very deep concerns about Huawei providing the 5G network in Britain. It's something we'd have to look at very closely," Williamson was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
"We've got to look at what partners such as Australia and the US are doing in order to ensure that they have the maximum security of that 5G network," he said.
"We've got to recognise the fact, as has been recently exposed, that the Chinese state does act in a malign way," he said.
Williamson's comments echo similar warnings from MI6 spy agency chief Alex Younger who earlier this year said Britain would have to make "some decisions" about the involvement of firms such as Huawei.
Britain's government earlier this year announced the West Midlands region in central England would become the first large-scale testing area for 5G.
Fifth-generation mobile networks, or 5G, will have faster transmission speeds and could enable a far wider use of self-driving vehicles and internet-powered household objects.
It is expected to be rolled out in Asia and the United States from 2020.
Huawei has defended its ambitions in the face of global fears that the Chinese telecom giant serves as a Trojan horse for Beijing's security apparatus.
The company has been under fire this year with Washington leading efforts to blacklist Huawei internationally and securing the arrest of the company's chief financial officer in Canada.
Countries like the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Britain have pulled back from using its products while concerns grow in Japan, France, Germany, and even the Czech Republic over security issues.

Chinese Espionage

MI6 chief questions China's role in UK tech sector
By Gordon Corera

Alex Younger returned to St Andrews University - where he studied - for his second public speech in his four years as MI6 chief

The chief of MI6 has raised questions over Chinese technology companies being involved in the UK's communications infrastructure.
Australia has already blocked Chinese company Huawei from supplying equipment for its 5G mobile network, and New Zealand has said it will consult before a final decision.
MI6 boss Alex Younger said Britain needs to decide how comfortable it is "with Chinese ownership of these technologies".
In a rare speech, he also said British intelligence needs to innovate faster than its adversaries to cope with threats the country faces.
Russia posed a threat through hybrid warfare -- including cyber attacks, he said, but warned that Moscow should not underestimate the UK's capabilities.
MI6 will continue to strengthen ties in Europe, he said, and it had been involved in disrupting terrorist attacks against France and Germany.
In a wide-ranging speech and discussion, Mr Younger said the UK's adversaries had been probing its institutions and defences in ways that fall short of traditional warfare.
These adversaries regarded themselves as in "a state of perpetual confrontation" with the UK.

Russia 'must not underestimate us'
Russia's actions included the poisoning of Sergei Skripal with a nerve agent in Salisbury in March this year.
The former Russian spy had come to the UK in a spy swap after being pardoned by Russia. 

"To the extent that we assumed that had meaning, that is not an assumption we will make again," Mr Younger said.
The aim of the UK's response to that poisoning had been to make the Russian state conclude its activities were not worth the risk.

Alex Younger warned Russia "not to underestimate our determination and our capabilities"

The expulsion of Russian intelligence officers by the UK and allies had significantly degraded Russian intelligence capability, he said.
He urged Russia "not to underestimate our determination or capabilities, or those of our allies. We can do this to any opponent at any time."
He said that even though the Russian state sought to destabilise the UK, 'we do not seek to destabilise Russia.' 

If that country responds positively, then so would the UK. 

"We do not seek an escalation," he said.
Since his last speech two years ago, Mr Young said MI6 and its sister agencies disrupted multiple attack plans linked to so-called Islamic State (ISIS).
MI6 "will always work with our sister agencies to strengthen our indispensable security ties with Europe".
UK intelligence agencies, he said, have played "an important contribution" in helping European countries, particularly France and Germany, prevent terrorist attacks in their countries or against their citizens.
On the killing of Jamal Khashoggi Mr Younger said: "It was an appalling attack -- shocking.
"We have made it very clear to the Saudis that we expect to see a transparent effective investigation. And much will hang on the results of that investigation."

Jamal Khashoggi had gone to Istanbul to obtain a marriage document

The MI6 chief -- known as "C" -- was speaking at St Andrews University, where he studied economics and computer science as an undergraduate. 

It was only his second public lecture since he arrived.
In the speech, Mr Younger revealed details of his own career and background that had not been publicly known before.
After graduating from St Andrews he said he joined the Scots Guards Regiment and then MI6.
His first job was penetrating an organisation "intent on genocide" in the Balkans in the mid-1990s.
He said carrying out that mission involved traveling under a false identity and "many nights drinking obscure homemade alcohol" to create the relationships needed to provide intelligence.
Certain aspects of the intelligence world had not changed and would not change, he said, with MI6 still trying to understand the motivations, intentions and aspiration of people in other countries.
"Even in the era of artificial intelligence you need human intelligence," he said. 

But there had been significant changes.

Mr Younger is "perplexed" over why the UAE jailed British academic Matthew Hedges

The impact of technology was a major focus of his remarks. 

MI6 was "pioneering a fourth generation of espionage" to make sure technology worked to its advantage.
Data analytics has made the world more transparent with implications for spies. 

That was evident by the way that a non-governmental investigative group -- Bellingcat -- was able to expose the Russian military intelligence officers involved in the Salisbury attack.
That was a sign that the traditional "cover" used by spies -- traveling around the world under false identities -- does not stand up to scrutiny in a way it did in the past.
The data age posed a potentially "existential challenge" to traditional ways of operating. 

"Our task now is to master covert action in the data age," he said.

China's role in 5G

Mr Younger was asked about the role of China in building new 5G communications networks.
There have been concerns that this could open the way for intercepting of communications and sabotage.
New Zealand has just announced it would not allow the Chinese company Huawei to be involved.
Huawei has been involved in previous UK communications infrastructure projects.
"We have got some decisions to take here," Mr Younger said.

"We need to decide the extent to which we are going to be comfortable with Chinese ownership of these technologies and these platforms in an environment where some of our allies have taken a quite definite position.
"We need to have a conversation. It's not wholly straightforward."
Cyber was now the fastest growing directorate of MI6, he said, and the service was increasingly working with the private sector tech community.
Mr Younger stressed that a priority was ensuring the broadest possible range of people considered coming to work for MI6 including those who had never thought about it in the past.
"If you think you can spot an MI6 officer, you are mistaken".