Huawei Technologies is facing two fresh bombshell allegations involving potentially unlawful activities in North Korea and the Czech Republic, casting further doubt on the Chinese telecoms giant’s fate in the US and the European Union (EU).
Photo credit: Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine
The two claims, made separately by US and Czech media organizations, added uncertainty to the future global footprint of the company, as Western nations consider banning Huawei – in full or in part – from their 5G wireless networks.
Western countries led by the US have accused the company of posing a national security threat, highlighting the irresistibility of a Chinese law that they said could force Huawei to hand over personal data it collected overseas to the Chinese state – a concern that forms the heart of the latest Czech claim. The accusation of a so-called “back door” has been rejected repeatedly by Huawei and the Chinese government.
On Monday, The Washington Post reported that based on sources and documents it had obtained from a former Huawei employee, the company had “secretly helped” Pyongyang build and maintain North Korea’s commercial wireless network.
Huawei partnered with Panda International Information Technology, a Chinese state-owned firm, on a number of projects spanning at least eight years, according to The Post’s report.
The revelations raise questions about whether Huawei, which has used American technology in its components, violated US export controls to furnish equipment to North Korea, where the isolated regime has faced extensive international sanctions over its nuclear weapons programme and human rights abuses.
Also on Monday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that an investigation conducted by Czech public radio found that the local unit of Huawei “secretly collected personal data of customers, officials and business partners.”
Citing two former Huawei managers who spoke on condition of anonymity, the radio network said Huawei required them to enter the data into computer systems that “is only managed by Huawei headquarters in China,” according to AFP.
The personal information gathered included the number of children, hobbies and the financial situation of designated subjects, it added.
In a statement, Huawei said the accusations made against the company in the AFP report are completely unsubstantiated.
“Huawei has never worked with any intelligence gathering operations whether from the Chinese embassy or any other organisation,” it said. “The way Huawei processes user data in the Czech Republic is in full compliance with all applicable Czech and EU laws.”
Huawei, the world’s biggest maker of telecoms equipment in terms of sales and one of the largest providers of 5G mobile technology, has become entangled in US President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.
Trump has held out the possibility of lifting some of the sanctions the US government has placed on the company, and Beijing has said they would need to be part of any negotiations.
In a May 15 executive order, Trump declared a national emergency that barred the use of telecommunications equipment made by companies deemed a threat to national security. The US Commerce Department followed the same day by putting Huawei on its “Entity List,” effectively stopping it from doing business with American companies.
The Czech Republic and Poland have echoed the US hardline policies against Huawei, becoming the most vocal critics of the company within the EU.
Last year, the Czech National Cyber and Information Security Agency concluded that Huawei’s software and hardware posed a threat to state security.
Stuart Lau
