Huawei, ZTE Deny They Are Threat To US Security
Chinese telecommunications companies say they cooperated fully with investigation
Huawei and ZTE have strongly denied accusations that that they pose a genuine security threat to the United States’ infrastructure.
The Chinese companies have both separately challenged the findings of the Intelligence Committee of the US House of Representatives, which had been investigating “the threat posed by Chinese-owned telecommunications companies working in the United States, and the government’s response to that threat.”
Its report said that neither could be trusted to be free of “foreign state influence” and that China has the “means, opportunity and motive” to use telecommunications companies for “malicious purposes.”
Huawei ZTE Denials
Huawei said that the report contained no evidence to substantiate the committee’s findings and it had cooperated fully with the investigation in an effort to ensure that the results were “fact-based and unbiased”, but said that the committee appeared to have been “committed to a predetermined outcome.”
“The report released by the Committee today employs many rumors and speculations to prove non-existent accusations,” read a company statement. “We have to suspect that the only purpose of such a report is to impede competition and obstruct Chinese ICT companies from entering the US market.”
Huawei remains confident that the report will not change the perception of its customers and partners who are aware of the quality and security of its products, adding that it had a proven track record in the US and remains committed to the American market.
ZTE Transparency
ZTE was also adamant that its equipment was safe for US telecom infrastructure, adding that it had “set an unprecedented standard for cooperation by any Chinese company with a US congressional inquiry.” It pointed to its Trusted Delivery Model, a reviewing and monitoring system conducted by an independent US threat assessment laboratory as evidence of its suitability.
The company was disappointed that it was only included in the investigation because it was one of the two largest Chinese telecommunications manufacturers and said that any company operating in China might not be completely “free of state influence.”
“The Committee has not challenged ZTE’s fitness to serve the US market based on any pattern of unethical or illegal behavior,” it said.
It added that since virtually all telecom infrastructure equipment sold in the US contained components made in China, yet Western vendors were not subjected to review. It said that this was surpising given that ZTE currently only accounts for a small part of the market.
“ZTE recommends that the Committee’s investigation be extended to include every company making equipment in China, including the Western vendors,” read a statement. “That is the only way to truly protect US equipment and US national security.”
How well do you know Internet security? Try our quiz and find out!
