Chinese vendor Huawei has opened a security evaluation center in the UK to help quell western government’s concerns about the integrity of its equipment.
The center will probe Huawei's hardware and software to ensure they can withstand cyber attacks, and develop a security assurance system in conjunction with the UK's Communications-Electronics Security Group, a member of the GCHQ intelligence agency.
John Frieslaar, managing director of the facility, said it demonstrated Huawei’s “commitment to building mutual trust in the area of cyber security,” adding that the site will be “transparent, readily accessible, and open to regulators and customers.”
Huawei clearly hopes the center, which was unveiled to industry players late November, will overturn western government’s suspicions about the security of its infrastructure, after being dogged by rumors about its links to the Chinese military.
It is perhaps no coincidence Huawei publicly revealed the center’s existence on the same day US cellco Sprint Nextel announced its next generation network vendors, after the Chinese firm was reportedly excluded from the tender due to the US government’s fears over the security of its infrastructure.
Huawei has had more success in the UK, winning a fresh contract to deploy fiber equipment for BT’s next-generation broadband project in August.