Huawei Calls for Global Security Standards

Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant subject to an investigation on Capitol Hill looking into their alleged ties to the PLA, has published a report on cyber security perspectives. The report is a mix of company promotion, as well as an indirect answer to Congress’ claims.

Written by John Suffolk, Huawei’s global cyber security officer, the report is labeled an “open and frank perspective of Huawei’s viewpoints regarding cyber security.”

Huawei has consistently denied claims that they are involved in corporate or government-sponsored espionage, and claims that their technologies pose a risk to critical infrastructure.

In 2011, the US Commerce Department blocked them from bidding on a contract to build a national wireless network for first responders, citing national security concerns. Moreover, the Pentagon has repeatedly singled out Huawei as a company that maintains close ties to the People’s Liberation Army.

“…not a day goes by that we do not read or hear politically – or competitor-inspired negative commentary about cyber security,” the report notes.

It goes on to say that achieving an effective solution to the security issues faced by everyone involved “is going to demand sober and fact-based dialogue, not commercial or political jousting.”

The main point of the report however, seems to hinge on this one statement, which is both a rebuttal to Congress and a call for a global set of standards.

“We will support and adopt any internationally agreed standard or best practice for cyber security in its broadest sense; we will support any research effort to improve cyber defences; we will continue to improve and adopt an open and transparent approach enabling governments to review Huawei’s security capabilities, and finally, as we have done to date, we warmly welcome the assistance from our customers in enhancing our processes, our technology, and our approach to cyber security so that we can provide even greater benefits to them and their customers.”

It isn’t clear if the report is a direct response the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence’s call to appear, but it certainly comes off as such. The full report is an interesting read, and is available here.