Washington: A White House-ordered review of security risks posed by suppliers to US telecommunications companies found no clear evidence that Huawei Technologies Ltd had spied for China, two people familiar with the probe said.
Instead, those leading the 18-month review concluded that relying on Huawei, the world’s second-largest maker of networking gear, was risky for other reasons, such as the presence of vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit.
According to stuff.co.nz, the previously unreported findings support parts of a landmark US congressional report that has warned against allowing Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE Corp to supply critical telecom infrastructure.
But it may douse speculation that Huawei has been caught spying for China.
Aided by intelligence agencies and other departments, those conducting the largely classified White House inquiry investigated into reports of suspicious activity and asked detailed questions of nearly 1,000 telecom equipment buyers, the people familiar with the probe said.
“We knew certain parts of government really wanted" evidence of active spying, said one of the people, who requested anonymity, adding: "We would have found it if it were there."
According to the report, a spokesman for Huawei said the company was not familiar with the review, but it was not surprised that no evidence of Huawei espionage was found.
Huawei, whose chief executive officer, Ren Zhengfei, founded it 25 years ago after he was laid off by the Chinese Army, has rejected the House report as unfair and inaccurate.
China`s Commerce Ministry has also called the accusations ‘groundless’.
"Huawei is a US$32 billion independent multinational that would not jeopardize its success or the integrity of its customers`` networks for any government or third party. Ever," the company`s US spokesman Bill Plummer said.
ANI
