Huawei has been cleared of being a security risk to the UK in a new report on the Chinese firm’s British operations.
The company has long been deemed a concern to authorities both here in the US, with government agencies suspicious that the company might be providing intelligence to China.
In response, Huawei opened the ‘Cyber Security Evaluation Centre’ (HCSEC) back in 2012, hoping to assuage such concerns.
The centre made a point of testing all Huawei hardware and software used in the UK to disprove claims of foul play.
Unfortunately, the government still remained concerned because the centre’s staff was comprised entirely of Huawei’s own employees.
The following year, the UK’s Intelligence and Security Committee opted to combat the company’s self-policing, and decided to investigate the centre.
Today, the results of the investigation were released, and it seems Huawei has been given the all-clear.
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Investigators said that HCSEC was suitably separated from Huawei proper, and found ‘no major concerns’ about day-to-day operations.
The report declared: “Any risks to UK national security from Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s critical networks have been sufficiently mitigated.”
Speaking to SC Magazine, Ryan Ding, executive Director of the Huawei Group Board, said: “Huawei is pleased to be playing its part in providing reassurance to its UK customers of the quality of our products and solutions through HCSEC.”
It’s not over yet, however – the oversight board plans to meet three times a year to deliberate over HCSEC’s continuing operations, to ensure there aren’t any slip-ups in the future.
GCHQ will reportedly take the lead on HCSEC’s work, and the oversight board will be made aware whenever the centre makes any significant staffing changes.