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U.S. security vendors wary of Chinese telecom suppliers, call for transparency

10.10.2012
U.S. IT security vendors surveyed about the Congressional report this week that blasted China's Huawei and ZTE as threats to U.S. national security say that the companies shouldn't be ruled out as network equipment suppliers but that they need to be more transparent about their dealings with the Chinese government.

The central argument made in the "Investigative Report on the U.S. National Security Issues Posed by Chinese Telecommunications Companies Huawei and ZTE" from the is that both companies have close but murky ties to the Chinese Communist Party and military, with Huawei in particular being evasive about these connections. The report claims there's a danger that if their network equipment becomes widely used here, they could "provide Chinese intelligence services access to telecommunications networks."

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Philippe Courtot, CEO of vulnerability-assessment scanning services company Qualys, says he doesn't know if the Chinese government is involved in such activities with these companies. But Huawei, which is known to be exploring the possibility of an IPO, should move forcibly to distance itself from any connection to the Chinese government, he says.

Though he says having a Congressional report label you a threat to national security could push the company out of the U.S. market, it's still possible for Huawei to respond in a way to build confidence.