Security Expert to Help Huawei With Flawed Products SiteProNews

11 2012 Thursday

Huawei is asking a German security researcher for help with security flaws in its products.

The Chinese telecom company’s global security chief, John Suffolk, told Reuters Huawei has sent engineers to Germany to discuss with Felix ‘FX’ Lindner the failings he found in a number of the company’s products.

“We’ve very much taken on board Felix’s views and you’ll see over the coming period we’ve got a whole host of significant operations to deal with these issues,” John Suffolk, the company’s global cybersecurity chief, told Reuters.

According to Reuters, the products, from inexpensive home routers to complex telecom equipment, are susceptible to hacking. Lindner told Reuters the software is “poorly written” leaving it “vulnerable” to hackers.

The move comes just a week after Huawei Australia chairman John Lord proposed the creation of a cyber security test center in Australia to test telecom equipment for risks and vulnerabilities.

The proposal is in response to a number of countries, including the U.S. and Australia, viewing the Chinese company’s equipment as a potential security risk.

Huawei has been under fire since a U.S. congressional report was released Oct. 8 dissuading U.S. businesses from buying equipment from Huawei and fellow Chinese telecommunications company ZTE.

The House Intelligence Committee said neither firm has adequately answered concerns broached continually by lawmakers over the capability of the companies to spy on American companies or individuals. Neither Huawei nor ZTE convinced the committee they could not be swayed by the Chinese government to assist in its espionage efforts.

The report also recommends the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS), a government panel that scrutinizes foreign contracts for security issues, oppose future business dealings concerning Huawei or ZTE and U.S. firms.

Huawei, in just 25 years, has become the largest manufacturer of fourth generation communication networks, known as 4G, the latest technology for moving high volumes of phone calls, data, and high definition video. The company produces everything from Smartphones to routers.

Huawei, headquartered in Shenzhen, not far from Hong Kong, is a private company that, apparently, is owned by its 140,000 employees.

Huawei and ZTE have both refuted the claims.