EU Takes Aim at China and Huawei in 5G Cybersecurity Report

by Silviu STAHIE on October 11, 2019

A European Union report assessing risks to its planned 5G cybersecurity networks says that foreign states and state-backed actors represent the biggest threat, and it all but named Chinese firm Huawei as one such risk.

Huawei started developing 5G infrastructure a long time ago, along with companies such as Nokia and Ericsson, and it was the first to provide a working foundation. Now that the time to implement 5G technology is here, the EU and other entities have to consider Huawei.

Unfortunately for the Chinese company, its 5G plans are being set back by accusations from Europe and The United States. One of the main fears is that the 5G underlying technology has undisclosed vulnerabilities, which could be shared with the Chinese government. Huawei has repeatedly denied the accusations, including the veiled ones from the recent EU report.

“Threats posed by States or State-backed actors, are perceived to be of highest relevance. They represent indeed the most serious as well as the most likely threat actors,” states the report. “States or State-backed actors can cause large-scale outage or significant disturbance of telecommunications services by exploiting undocumented functions or attacking interdependent critical infrastructures.”

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While the document doesn’t mention China or Huawei, the Chinese company already prepared a response, with a single, strong rebuttal. “We are a 100% private company wholly owned by its employees, and cybersecurity is a top priority.”

The timeline for 5G deployment in all EU member states is already in place, and should be underway by 2020. 5G will cover all urban areas and main transport paths by 2025.