Huawei has caved in to demands by British security agencies to address serious risks the UK believes exist in the Chinese group’s equipment and software in an attempt to avoid being shut out from future fifth-generation telecoms networks.
At a meeting this week between Huawei executives and senior officials from GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre, the Chinese telecoms provider agreed to a series of technical demands which will change its practices in the UK, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.
Huawei has also agreed to write a formal letter to the NCSC outlining the company’s agreement to urgently address the issues, first raised in a critical report in July by an oversight board that monitors the testing of the company’s kit before approving it for use in UK networks.
The move comes after the US government stepped up efforts to persuade western allies to shun the world’s biggest telecoms provider when upgrading services to new, 5G technologies, amid fears over cyber espionage.
Senior UK security officials have repeatedly stressed that their concerns are related to technical deficiencies and not the company’s Chinese origins.
