Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Mobile & Wireless

Trump, Johnson Talk Security Ahead of Huawei Decision

Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed telecoms security with US President Donald Trump as he prepares to announce if Britain will use China’s Huawei in its 5G networks, officials said Saturday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed telecoms security with US President Donald Trump as he prepares to announce if Britain will use China’s Huawei in its 5G networks, officials said Saturday.

In a phone call on Friday evening, the leaders “discussed a range of issues, including cooperation to ensure the security of our telecommunications networks”, a Downing Street spokeswoman said.

In London on Saturday, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Huawei’s involvement in next generation 5G mobile networks was a “complicated issue”.

“We are in active discussions with the UK government and others about Huawei,” he told the Chatham House think tank after talks with British Finance Minister Sajid Javid.

“Huawei is a complicated issue, what part of their network it goes into. I don’t want to get into the details, but there are active discussions.”

The United States has banned Huawei from the rollout of its 5G networks because of concerns — strongly denied — that the firm could be under the control of Beijing.

Washington has been lobbying London to do the same, but there is speculation that Johnson’s government will grant some kind of limited access, with a decision expected next week.

Huawei is already well established in British 3G and 4G networks, and officials have warned that banning it would be hugely costly and delay the rollout of 5G technology.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Intelligence agencies also believe that they can contain any potential risk, although Johnson and his top ministers will make the final decision.

At Chatham House, Mnuchin also repeated Washington’s desire to strike a post-Brexit trade deal with Britain within a year.

London is hoping to open formal trade negotiations with the EU and US as soon as possible after leaving the bloc on January 31.

Mnuchin said some questions may have to be resolved with Brussels before they could be finalised with the US, but added: “I think a lot of the issues can be dealt with simultaneously.”

Johnson also discussed Brexit in his call with Trump, along with the “need to secure justice” for the family of Harry Dunn, Downing Street said.

The British teenager died in August when his motorbike was hit by a car being driven by Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US diplomat.

British authorities have charged Sacoolas with causing death by dangerous driving, but the US refuses to extradite her.

Johnson “reiterated the need for the individual involved to return to the UK”, the spokeswoman said.

Written By

AFP 2023

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Join the session as we discuss the challenges and best practices for cybersecurity leaders managing cloud identities.

Register

SecurityWeek’s Ransomware Resilience and Recovery Summit helps businesses to plan, prepare, and recover from a ransomware incident.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Identity & Access

Zero trust is not a replacement for identity and access management (IAM), but is the extension of IAM principles from people to everyone and...

Malware & Threats

The NSA and FBI warn that a Chinese state-sponsored APT called BlackTech is hacking into network edge devices and using firmware implants to silently...

Cybersecurity Funding

Network security provider Corsa Security last week announced that it has raised $10 million from Roadmap Capital. To date, the company has raised $50...

Network Security

Attack surface management is nothing short of a complete methodology for providing effective cybersecurity. It doesn’t seek to protect everything, but concentrates on areas...

Application Security

Virtualization technology giant VMware on Tuesday shipped urgent updates to fix a trio of security problems in multiple software products, including a virtual machine...

Identity & Access

Hackers rarely hack in anymore. They log in using stolen, weak, default, or otherwise compromised credentials. That’s why it’s so critical to break the...

Application Security

Fortinet on Monday issued an emergency patch to cover a severe vulnerability in its FortiOS SSL-VPN product, warning that hackers have already exploited the...

Mobile & Wireless

Infonetics Research has shared excerpts from its Mobile Device Security Client Software market size and forecasts report, which tracks enterprise and consumer security client...