The Wall Street Journal revealed that, according to US intelligence agencies, Huawei has the ability to spy on all networks in which their equipment is used. The new rumours about a backdoor in Huawei’s equipment are once again denied by the company itself.
The backdoor can allegedly be switched on and off remotely by Huawei employees. Moreover, the backdoor has been in existence for about ten years now.
According to the US, the backdoor would be specifically bad news because Huawei personnel could be instructed by Beijing to abuse the remote access. This way, people’s communication and internet traffic can be controlled. In fact, the backdoor can be used by the Chinese government to spy on every network in the world that uses Huawei’s equipment.
No information about actual abuse
Incidentally, the Wall Street Journal sharply observed that US intelligence services did not reveal anything about whether Huawei actually broke into networks to spy on people. That remains unclear for the time being.
Huawei has denied the accusations, but does not deny that a so-called “lawful interception interface” is present; another name for a backdoor. The interface is present so that network providers can provide information during criminal investigations. The truth of the matter is that Huawei swears that it is not engaged in undesirable practices, but that there is no way to know for sure.
The Chinese company itself states:
“Huawei has never and will never do anything that would compromise or endanger the security of networks and data of its clients. We emphatically reject these latest allegations. Again, groundless accusations are being repeated without providing any kind of concrete evidence. The use of the lawful interception interface is strictly regulated and can only be accessed by certified personnel of the network operators. No Huawei employee is allowed to access the network without an explicit approval from the network operator.”
9 hours ago
