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- Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and Huawei are reportedly teaming up to provide a Google Play Store alternative (Feb 6, 2020)
- BT will build UK’s emergency network using Huawei kit despite security concerns (Feb 2, 2020)
- Huawei asks Verizon to pay over $1 billion for over 230 patents (June 16, 2019)
- Europe's data security dilemma: the Huawei debate (May 26, 2019)
- Huawei banned from using microSD cards in future smartphones (May 24, 2019)
- ARM cuts ties with Huawei (May 22, 2019)
- U.S. Tech Industry, Including Google, Microsoft, Intel, and Qualcomm, Ban Huawei (May 20, 2019)
- US eases some restrictions on China’s Huawei (May 20, 2019)
- Google revokes Huawei's Android license. Qualcomm, Intel, Broadcom cut ties as well. (May 20, 2019)
- Countries Seek United 5G Security Approach Amid Huawei Concerns (May 3, 2019)
- The Huawei Saga Reaches Germany (May 03, 2019)
- NATO's Supreme Allied Commander: "If Berlin picks Huawei for 5G, NATO will not communicate with Germany"
- Gavin Williamson, U.K. Defense Chief, Is Fired Over Huawei Leak (May 1, 2019)
- Vodafone found hidden backdoors in Huawei equipment (April 30, 2019)
For months, Huawei Technologies Co. has faced U.S. allegations that it flouted sanctions on Iran, attempted to steal trade secrets from a business partner and has threatened to enable Chinese spying through the telecom networks it’s built across the West.
Now Vodafone Group Plc has acknowledged to Bloomberg that it found vulnerabilities going back years with equipment supplied by Shenzhen-based Huawei for the carrier’s Italian business. While Vodafone says the issues were resolved, the revelation may further damage the reputation of a major symbol of China’s global technology prowess.
Europe’s biggest phone company identified hidden backdoors in the software that could have given Huawei unauthorized access to the carrier’s fixed-line network in Italy, a system that provides internet service to millions of homes and businesses, according to Vodafone’s security briefing documents from 2009 and 2011 seen by Bloomberg, as well as people involved in the situation.
Vodafone asked Huawei to remove backdoors in home internet routers in 2011 and received assurances from the supplier that the issues were fixed, but further testing revealed that the security vulnerabilities remained, the documents show. Vodafone also identified backdoors in parts of its fixed-access network known as optical service nodes, which are responsible for transporting internet traffic over optical fibers, and other parts called broadband network gateways, which handle subscriber authentication and access to the internet, the people said. The people asked not to be identified because the matter was confidential.
The Trump administration, arguing such end-runs around security in Huawei’s equipment could invite espionage by the Chinese state, is trying to persuade Western allies to block the company from the next generation of mobile networks. Huawei has repeatedly denied that it creates backdoors and says it’s not beholden to Beijing.
Huawei’s ability to continue winning contracts from London-based Vodafone, despite the carrier’s security concerns, underscores the challenge facing the U.S. as it tries to hinder the world’s top telecom equipment vendor and No. 2 supplier of smartphones. Huawei is vying against a stable of Western companies including Nokia Oyj and Ericsson AB to roll out fifth-generation, or 5G, wireless networks.
Vodafone has defended Huawei against the U.S. onslaught, which has placed Europe—Huawei’s largest market outside China—in the middle of a trade battle between two superpowers. At stake is leadership in key areas, principally 5G technology that’s designed to support the internet of things and new applications in industries spanning automotive, energy to healthcare. Vodafone Chief Executive Officer Nick Read has joined peers in publicly opposing any bans on Huawei from 5G rollouts, warning of higher costs and delays. The defiance shows that countries across Europe are willing to risk rankling the U.S. in the name of 5G preparedness.
Huawei has expanded its relationship with Vodafone well beyond routers and is now its fourth-largest supplier behind Apple, Nokia and Ericsson. Huawei’s gear is found across Vodafone’s wireless networks in Europe; in the U.K., equipment from Huawei accounts for about one-third of the radio-access network, a critical piece of the infrastructure.
Some telecom companies have taken steps to limit Huawei’s exposure from the most sensitive parts of their networks, amid the added government scrutiny. In January, Vodafone’s CEO Read said the company had paused purchases of Huawei equipment for the core of its mobile networks in Europe, citing too much “noise” around the situation.
Still, carriers including Vodafone are fighting against the threat of Huawei being banned in Europe because they’ve come to rely so heavily on the supplier. Abandoning Huawei for 5G, with Europe already lagging behind China and the U.S., could force them to rip out the supplier’s 4G gear, a process that could take years and cost billions of dollars.
In a statement, Huawei said it was made aware of historical vulnerabilities in 2011 and 2012 and they were addressed at the time. A company spokesman said the flaws in the equipment related to maintenance and diagnostic functions common across the industry, as well as vulnerabilities. “There is absolutely no truth in the suggestion that Huawei conceals backdoors in its equipment.”
However, Vodafone’s account of the issue was contested by people involved in the security discussions between the companies. Vulnerabilities in both the routers and the fixed access network remained beyond 2012 and were also present in Vodafone’s businesses in the U.K., Germany, Spain and Portugal, said the people. Vodafone stuck with Huawei because the services were competitively priced, they said.
https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/...huawei-equipment?in_source=amp_trending_now_1
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