Following a decision to allow Huawei to participate in Britain’s next-gen networks, it seems as though the government is reevaluating its stance.
Huawei has been accused of being a part of Beijing’s spying apparatus, essentially giving the Chinese government a backdoor into any entity using Huawei’s equipment. As a result, the US has engaged in an extensive campaign to limit Huawei’s growth, trying to convince its allies to ban the firm as the US has done. Most recently, the US has moved to cut off Huawei’s supply of semiconductors, using a rule that puts restrictions on who foreign companies that use US technology can sell to.
In spite of its efforts, the US was dealt a setback when its closest ally opted to allow Huawei to participate in its 5G rollout. Bloomberg is reporting, however, that the UK may be reconsidering that decision.
“The security and resilience of our networks is of paramount importance,” a British government spokesperson said in an email. “Following the U.S. announcement of additional sanctions against Huawei, the NCSC is looking carefully at any impact they could have to the U.K.’s networks.”
It will be interesting to see what the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) finds, but it won’t be surprising if the UK reverses its decision, at least to some degree. The move to allow Huawei to participate in British networks was unpopular among a large portion of the government, and that will likely add even further impetus toward a potential mulligan.
