Huawei security risks threaten critical UK broadband and phone networks, security services warn

Britain’s phone and internet network is at risk because of “shortcomings” in a Chinese company that has been allowed to set up in the UK, Britain’s spies are warning.

A Government report into Huawei's broadband and mobile infrastructure equipment has concluded that it has "only limited assurance" that the kit poses no threat to national security.

Huawei is the world's biggest producer of telecoms equipment and is a major supplier of broadband and mobile network gear in Britain.

The report was written by the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC), which was set up in 2010 in response to concerns that BT and others' use of the firm's equipment could pose a threat. It reports to the National Cyber Security Centre which is part of GCHQ, the Government's listening post.

In its latest report, the HCSEC's oversight board warned that “identification of shortcomings in Huawei’s engineering processes have exposed new risks in the UK telecommunication networks and long-term challenges in mitigation and management”.

Sir Mark Sedwill, the National Security Adviser, was alerted to the problems in February and work had started “to remediate the engineering process issues in other products that are deployed in the UK” by Huawei, the report said.

“This work should give us the ability to provide end-to-end assurance that the code analysed by HCSEC is the constituent code used to build the binary packages executed on the network elements in the UK. 

“Until this work is completed, the Oversight Board can offer only limited assurance due to the lack of the required end-to-end traceability from source code examined by HCSEC”.

This is the UK's fourth annual report into Huawei. The previous three concluded that any risks posed by the firm to the UK's national security "had been mitigated". 

The news comes as the US steps up efforts to ban Huawei's equipment from its country's networks. 

Australia is also considering banning the firm from being involved in its planned 5G network, over concerns that Beijing could force the  firm to hand over sensitive data.

 In a statement to the BBC, Huawei acknowledged there were "some areas for improvement". A spokesman said: “We are grateful for this feedback and are committed to addressing these issues.

"Cyber-security remains Huawei's top priority, and we will continue to actively improve our engineering processes and risk management systems." 

A National Cyber Security Centre spokesman said: “The NCSC is fully committed to the oversight arrangements set in place through the HCSEC Oversight Board.

“For the last four years, the Oversight Board has provided a valuable role relating to risks arising from Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s critical networks.

“This Government and British telecoms operators work with Huawei at home and abroad to ensure the UK can continue to benefit from new technology while managing cyber security risks.”