Huawei sought to end questions over the security of its telecoms infrastructure equipment, revealing an independent UK cyber security team established by the company in 2010 has cleared it of posing any danger to the country's national security.
The security team, which Reuters reported is staffed by a mix of Huawei employees, and government and intelligence agency representatives, said the Chinese infrastructure company has "sufficiently mitigated" any risk to the security of critical UK infrastructure that uses Huawei's kit.
In a report, the Huawei security centre said it is already meeting its obligations--a view backed up by an independent audit by Ernst & Young, the Financial Times reported.
Both news agencies noted that Huawei entered the UK market a decade ago through a deal to provide equipment to BT. UK lawmakers later said the company should have been probed more closely before that deal was signed, Reuters explained.
Huawei's international expansion has been dogged by claims the company poses a security risk due to links to China's government and the fact that founder Ren Zhengfei was once an officer in the country's People's Liberation Army.
The company set up its UK cyber security centre to address such concerns, which have subsequently seen Huawei all-but shut out of the U.S. market.
Ernst & Young's review of the facility found some strain in relations with Huawei's Chinese headquarters, and that some staff had not been vetted according to the highest security standards, the FT reported.
Huawei is preparing to replace the security centre's chief, Andy Hopkins, with David Pollington, a former Microsoft cyber security expert, the newspaper added.
Europe has emerged as an important market for Huawei over the past decade. In addition to establishing a 5G research centre in the UK, the company pledged to increase spending in the region from an estimated $3.7 billion (€3.4 billion) in 2014 to around $4.08 billion in 2015.
For more:
- see this Financial Times article [registration req.]
- read this Reuters report
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