Re: Overall - General
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:18 pm
.... and then we have the furore surrounding 5G; raised in 2019 that has caused many concerns &/or differences of opinion - and even leaks.
Theresa May to let Huawei help build UK’s 5G network despite fears China’s government may spy on users
Decision made despite warnings from senior politicians, MI6 and cyber security experts
Andrew Griffin
Wednesday 24 April 2019 08:22 42 comments
Theresa May will allow Huawei to build key parts of the UK's new 5G network, reports have claimed – despite fears the company will allow the Chinese government to spy on people using it.
The government is said to be satisfied that the company will only be allowed to build "non-core" parts of the infrastructure, such as antennas, keeping the information passed over it safe.
Digital minister Margot James has dismissed reports that a final decision has been made, saying "in spite of Cabinet leaks to the contrary, final decision yet to be made on managing threats to telecoms infrastructure."
Politicians including Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative chairman of Britain's Foreign Affairs Committee, criticised the reported decision, suggesting that it will make internet users in the UK unsafe.
There is no clear way of deciding whether a part of the infrastructure is "core", he said, because of the way the network is built.
"It still raises concerns," he told BBC Radio 4. "The definition of core and non-core is a very difficult one with 5G.
"5G does change from a faster internet system into an internet system that can genuinely connect everything, and therefore the distinction between non-core and core is much harder to make."
A number of ministers, including home secretary Sajid Javid, foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, defence secretary Gavin Williamson, international trade secretary Liam Fox and international development secretary Penny Mordaunt were said to have raised concerns about the decision, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The decision comes after a number of senior security figures warned publicly of the risks entailed in allowing a Chinese firm access to the UK's critical communications network.
MI6 chief Alex Younger has said Britain needs to decide how "comfortable" it is in allowing Chinese firms to become involved while the head of GCHQ Jeremy Fleming has spoken of both "opportunities and threats" which they present.
Some critics have expressed concerns that the Chinese government could require the firm to install technological "back doors" to enable it spy on or disable Britain's communications network.
Last month a government-led committee set up to vet Huawei's products said it had found "significant technological issues" with its engineering processes leading to new risks to the UK network.
The decision is likely to further strain relations with the US, which has banned Huawei from government networks and urged others in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance - the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada - to do the same.
Read full article here in the Independent (and The Telegraph)
________________________________________________________
.....but look what was going on as far back as 2003; here follows a selection of excerpts from :-
Intelligence and Security Committee
Foreign involvement in the
Critical National Infrastructure
The implications for national security
Chairman:The Rt. Hon. Sir Malcolm Rifkind, MP
Presented to Parliament
by the Prime Minister
on behalf of Her Majesty June 2013
Cm 8629
2.Certain telecommunications networks are considered to be part of the CNI (Critical National Infrastructure): .................
However, BT remains responsible for large parts of the UK’s telecommunications infrastructure. In 2003, it embarked on a major £10bn rationalisation and upgrade project commonly referred to as 21st Century Network. A number of companies were selected to supply the various equipment required, one of which was Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications company. A contract with Huawei to supply some of the transmission and access equipment, including routers,2 was signed in 2005, with this being deployed across the network from January 2007
---------------------------------------
HUAWEI AND THE CHINESE STATE
4.Huawei was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, a former officer of the People’s Liberation Army. It is the second largest telecommunications equipment company in the world, with over 150,000 employees and turnover of around £20bn. Huawei is a major supplier to many telecommunications companies globally; in the UK, this includes BT, O2, TalkTalk and Everything Everywhere. Huawei provides them with mobile handsets, routers and other equipment; its equipment permeates the UK’s fixed and mobile telecommunications infrastructure.3 Huawei employs 650 people in the UK and plans to increase this to 1,350 over the next five years.
5.Most of the concerns surrounding Huawei relate to its perceived links to the Chinese State. As the Committee noted in its last Annual Report, 20% of detected cyber attacks against UK interests demonstrate levels of sophistication which indicate that they are more likely to be State-sponsored, or related to organised crime. China is suspected of being one of the main perpetrators of State-sponsored attacks, which are focused on espionage and the acquisition of information. In this context, the alleged links between Huawei and the Chinese State are concerning, as they generate suspicion as to whether Huawei’s intentions are strictly commercial or are more political.
6.......................
Moreover, Huawei’s denial of links to the Chinese State is surprising, given that such links to the State are considered normal in China. As the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) explained: This close relationship between commerce and the state is seen in China as normal and acceptable because success is deemed to be for the benefit of all.5
5 Written Evidence – GCHQ, 28 April 2011.
------------------------------------
MARKET: WHAT WENT WRONG
12.Whether the suspicions about Huawei are legitimate or unfounded, we consider it necessary to ascertain how the company came to be embedded in the heart of the UK’s CNI. What this Committee’s investigation has revealed is a disconnect between the UK’s inward investment policy and its national security policy.
13.BT first notified Government officials in 2003 of Huawei’s interest in the 21st Century Network contract. However, the Committee has been told by the Cabinet Office that officials chose not to refer the matter to Ministers, or even inform them, until 2006, a year after the contract had been signed (a full chronology is at Annex A). The Committee sought to understand the reasons behind this failure.
(continues)
_______________________________________________________
Those are just a few selected excerpts from the report to give the flavour of this matter.
To get a full appreciation of just how long it has rumbled on; which organisations were/are involved; the advice etc and from whence it emanated I recommend a full read of Para's 14 thru 33; plus:-
ANNEX A – HUAWEI’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE CRITICAL NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE: A CHRONOLOGY
- and if the hyperlink becomes broken here is the PDF as an attachment:-
Theresa May to let Huawei help build UK’s 5G network despite fears China’s government may spy on users
Decision made despite warnings from senior politicians, MI6 and cyber security experts
Andrew Griffin
Wednesday 24 April 2019 08:22 42 comments
Theresa May will allow Huawei to build key parts of the UK's new 5G network, reports have claimed – despite fears the company will allow the Chinese government to spy on people using it.
The government is said to be satisfied that the company will only be allowed to build "non-core" parts of the infrastructure, such as antennas, keeping the information passed over it safe.
Digital minister Margot James has dismissed reports that a final decision has been made, saying "in spite of Cabinet leaks to the contrary, final decision yet to be made on managing threats to telecoms infrastructure."
Politicians including Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative chairman of Britain's Foreign Affairs Committee, criticised the reported decision, suggesting that it will make internet users in the UK unsafe.
There is no clear way of deciding whether a part of the infrastructure is "core", he said, because of the way the network is built.
"It still raises concerns," he told BBC Radio 4. "The definition of core and non-core is a very difficult one with 5G.
"5G does change from a faster internet system into an internet system that can genuinely connect everything, and therefore the distinction between non-core and core is much harder to make."
A number of ministers, including home secretary Sajid Javid, foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, defence secretary Gavin Williamson, international trade secretary Liam Fox and international development secretary Penny Mordaunt were said to have raised concerns about the decision, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The decision comes after a number of senior security figures warned publicly of the risks entailed in allowing a Chinese firm access to the UK's critical communications network.
MI6 chief Alex Younger has said Britain needs to decide how "comfortable" it is in allowing Chinese firms to become involved while the head of GCHQ Jeremy Fleming has spoken of both "opportunities and threats" which they present.
Some critics have expressed concerns that the Chinese government could require the firm to install technological "back doors" to enable it spy on or disable Britain's communications network.
Last month a government-led committee set up to vet Huawei's products said it had found "significant technological issues" with its engineering processes leading to new risks to the UK network.
The decision is likely to further strain relations with the US, which has banned Huawei from government networks and urged others in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance - the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada - to do the same.
Read full article here in the Independent (and The Telegraph)
________________________________________________________
.....but look what was going on as far back as 2003; here follows a selection of excerpts from :-
Intelligence and Security Committee
Foreign involvement in the
Critical National Infrastructure
The implications for national security
Chairman:The Rt. Hon. Sir Malcolm Rifkind, MP
Presented to Parliament
by the Prime Minister
on behalf of Her Majesty June 2013
Cm 8629
2.Certain telecommunications networks are considered to be part of the CNI (Critical National Infrastructure): .................
However, BT remains responsible for large parts of the UK’s telecommunications infrastructure. In 2003, it embarked on a major £10bn rationalisation and upgrade project commonly referred to as 21st Century Network. A number of companies were selected to supply the various equipment required, one of which was Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications company. A contract with Huawei to supply some of the transmission and access equipment, including routers,2 was signed in 2005, with this being deployed across the network from January 2007
---------------------------------------
HUAWEI AND THE CHINESE STATE
4.Huawei was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, a former officer of the People’s Liberation Army. It is the second largest telecommunications equipment company in the world, with over 150,000 employees and turnover of around £20bn. Huawei is a major supplier to many telecommunications companies globally; in the UK, this includes BT, O2, TalkTalk and Everything Everywhere. Huawei provides them with mobile handsets, routers and other equipment; its equipment permeates the UK’s fixed and mobile telecommunications infrastructure.3 Huawei employs 650 people in the UK and plans to increase this to 1,350 over the next five years.
5.Most of the concerns surrounding Huawei relate to its perceived links to the Chinese State. As the Committee noted in its last Annual Report, 20% of detected cyber attacks against UK interests demonstrate levels of sophistication which indicate that they are more likely to be State-sponsored, or related to organised crime. China is suspected of being one of the main perpetrators of State-sponsored attacks, which are focused on espionage and the acquisition of information. In this context, the alleged links between Huawei and the Chinese State are concerning, as they generate suspicion as to whether Huawei’s intentions are strictly commercial or are more political.
6.......................
Moreover, Huawei’s denial of links to the Chinese State is surprising, given that such links to the State are considered normal in China. As the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) explained: This close relationship between commerce and the state is seen in China as normal and acceptable because success is deemed to be for the benefit of all.5
5 Written Evidence – GCHQ, 28 April 2011.
------------------------------------
MARKET: WHAT WENT WRONG
12.Whether the suspicions about Huawei are legitimate or unfounded, we consider it necessary to ascertain how the company came to be embedded in the heart of the UK’s CNI. What this Committee’s investigation has revealed is a disconnect between the UK’s inward investment policy and its national security policy.
13.BT first notified Government officials in 2003 of Huawei’s interest in the 21st Century Network contract. However, the Committee has been told by the Cabinet Office that officials chose not to refer the matter to Ministers, or even inform them, until 2006, a year after the contract had been signed (a full chronology is at Annex A). The Committee sought to understand the reasons behind this failure.
(continues)
_______________________________________________________
Those are just a few selected excerpts from the report to give the flavour of this matter.
To get a full appreciation of just how long it has rumbled on; which organisations were/are involved; the advice etc and from whence it emanated I recommend a full read of Para's 14 thru 33; plus:-
ANNEX A – HUAWEI’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE CRITICAL NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE: A CHRONOLOGY
- and if the hyperlink becomes broken here is the PDF as an attachment:-