Telecom Lead India: The U.S. House of Representatives‘ Intelligence Committee has shared five recommendations after probing Huawei and ZTE.
The report includes five recommendations
- US government systems and US government contractors, particularly those working on sensitive systems, should exclude any Huawei or ZTE equipment or component parts. Additionally, the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) must block acquisitions, takeovers, or mergers involving Huawei and ZTE given the threat to U.S. national security interests.
- U.S. network providers and systems developers are strongly encouraged to seek other vendors for their projects.
- Unfair trade practices of the Chinese telecommunications sector should be investigated by committees of jurisdiction in U.S. Congress and enforcement agencies in the Executive Branch. Particular attention should be paid to China’s continued financial support of key companies.
- Chinese companies should quickly become more open and transparent. Huawei, in particular, must become more transparent and responsive to U.S. legal obligations.
- Committees of jurisdiction in Congress should consider potential legislation to better address the risk posed by telecommunications companies with nation-state ties or otherwise not clearly trusted to build critical infrastructure, including increasing information-sharing among private sector entities and expanding a role for the CFIUS process to include purchasing agreements.
“We have to be certain that Chinese telecommunication companies working in the United States can be trusted with access to our critical infrastructure,” Chairman Rogers said.
“Any bug, beacon, or backdoor put into our critical systems could allow for a catastrophic and devastating domino effect of failures throughout our networks. As this report shows, we have serious concerns about Huawei and ZTE, and their connection to the communist government of China. China is known to be the major perpetrator of cyber espionage, and Huawei and ZTE failed to alleviate serious concerns throughout this important investigation. American businesses should use other vendors,” Rogers added.
“It is our responsibility on the Intelligence Committee to protect our country’s national security. That is why we launched this investigation in the first place. We depend on our nation’s networks for so much of what we do every day. As this report shows, we have serious concerns about Huawei and ZTE, two Chinese telecommunications companies looking to gain market share in the United States, and their connection to the communist government of China. We warn U.S. government agencies and companies considering using Huawei and ZTE equipment in their networks to take into account the affect if could have on our national security,” said Ranking Member Ruppersberger.
According to the report, Huawei and ZTE provided incomplete, contradictory, and evasive responses to the Committee’s core concerns.
The report comes after a year-long investigation into the national security dangers posed by Huawei and ZTE, the two largest Chinese telecommunications companies doing business in the United States.
Our readers can download the full report here.
Intelligence Report
The report is prepared by Chairman Mike Rogers and Ranking Member C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
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