The arrival of 5G has caught people’s close attention and brought huge space for innovation, but it also caused doubts about manufacturers’ network security and commercial espionage. Huawei, the giant of China’s smartphone construction and telecommunications network providers, has been suspected of espionage by many countries and has been banned from their 5G projects.
Some countries have banned Huawei from their 5G network
In the past few months, Huawei has suffered a lot of reproaches. The intelligence chiefs of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom gathered in July for a meeting in Canada. During this meeting, the discussion focused on China’s capabilities in cyber espionage and increased military expansion.
It should be noted that US officials have publicly stated that their biggest concern is that the Chinese government may force Huawei to use its hardware knowledge to spy on or sabotage foreign telecommunications networks.
These concerns stem from the fact that Huawei has already been the subject of espionage allegations prior to the construction of their 5G network and is suspected of being associated with Chinese intelligence agencies. As a result, the countries present at this meeting decided to prevent Huawei from building their 5G Internet networks.
European countries
In December, France’s largest telecommunications company, Orange, announced that it would not use Huawei equipment in its 5G network.
And on December 17, the Czech authority warned their citizens against using Huawei equipment for security reasons.
In addition, Germany will probably be another member of the European Union to prevent Huawei from entering the 5G market on its territory. According to Reuters, senior German officials have explained that Huawei’s 5G could pose a significant risk to national security.
Germany is expected to auction off their 5G project in early 2019 to attract more non-Asian network providers. Among these companies which have embarked on the 5G network, there is the Finnish company Nokia or the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson.
Huawei defends itself
For its defense, Huawei said on Twitter that suspicions of espionage against them and the fragility of their infrastructure 5G in terms of cyber security were unfounded. Representatives added that Huawei is a private company and therefore completely independent of Chinese government’s power.
On November 16, 2018, Huawei Technologies inaugurated its Bonn Security Innovation Lab. This laboratory will work closely with German partners, governmental and supervisory authorities. Close and regular cooperation between BSI and Huawei will focus on the future challenges of cybersecurity
Conclusion
The next generation of wireless technologies will drive the development of the Internet of Things, linking smart cars, smart homes and smart cities together. This large-scale 5G application will involve billions of devices, all of which will communicate with each other to form a complex global network monitoring. Therefore, the safety and reliability of 5G is a big problem that all countries are concerned about.
It remains to be seen whether Huawei’s corresponding measures will succeed in reassuring these skeptical countries. But this does not prevent the manufacturer Huawei from continuing its ascent to 5G. Not only will Huawei be the first company to equip its 5G network technology in China, but it will also establish itself on the African continent. Algeria is already participating in tests with Huawei and may well be one of the first countries to continue to benefit from 5G innovations.
