Huawei: Where technology, security and politics collide

Friday, 1 March 2019

OPINION: As we all know, serious questions have been raised about allowing Huawei to play a role in the, er, roll out of 5G in New Zealand.

Back in November, New Zealand's Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) 'banned' Spark from partnering with Huawei for 5G.

Specifically, Spark wanted to continue to use Huawei's 5G RAN technology in its evolution of the network - alongside technology from Cisco and Nokia - but was told this would 'raise significant national security risks'. Despite the fact that Huawei already plays a similar part in New Zealand's current 4G setup.

So what should we think about Huawei providing the infrastructure for New Zealand's upgrade to 5G? Erm. It's complicated.

As I see it, there are three main pillars to the argument surrounding 5G and Huawei The technology itself, security, and, perhaps the biggest of them all, politics.

* UK reportedly clears Huawei is a 'manageable risk' - challenging NZ conclusion

* Huawei's a lightning rod for Western fears about China's technological prowess**

Huawei booth at the Mobile World Congress 2019, Barcelona.

TECH

I got to see Huawei's 5G technology in action this week at Mobile World Congress. The overwhelming impression that I, and probably every other visitor, got from the show is that Huawei is a genuine market leader in the technology.

Huawei dominated the show with branding, exhibitions and examples of real-world 5G use cases - in the form of speed tests, 4K wireless video, low-latency connections, VR, connected cities and general IoT tech. Clearly, 5G is a big deal to the company.

It appears that Huawei's 5G tech is cheap too. According to industry consensus, Huawei's hardware will be one-third cheaper to roll out than its rivals. If true, this won't just benefit you and me when it comes to paying our bill for using 5G technology.

Affordable infrastructure is important for delivering connectivity to all corners of New Zealand.

SECURITY

Currently, there hasn't been a specific security risk identified with Huawei's 5G technology, other than the fact that it's a Chinese company. And although Huawei strongly states its independence from the Chinese government, questions remain. Which creates the potential for a security risk to New Zealand and the Western world.

So my feeling on the matter is: Yes, if, in fact, Huawei does have direct links to the Chinese government, and its ambition to roll out 5G is an elaborate way to spy on the West then, of course, it's a price that's too high to pay.

But equally, I'd hope our security services could spot, and prevent, any foul play in 5G technology.

Guo Ping, Huawei's rotating chairman, makes a speech at the Mobile World Congress in 2019, Barcelona.

And this applies across the board, not just to companies that originate from non-Five Eyes countries.

POLITICS

The underlying issue here though is the politics of it all.

Australia has aligned itself with the US, ruling-out Huawei (and ZTE) straight off the bat. An understandable position to adopt, as the US is a Five Eyes ally. But, arguably a bit gung-ho too.

Incredibly, the UK - in the midst of its Brexit chaos - has been a little bit more pragmatic about the situation. Probably because it recognises it will need a good trading relationship with Chinese companies when/if it leaves the EU.

GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming summed up the subject well when he said: 'It's a hugely complex strategic challenge.'

In a recent speech in Singapore, Fleming continued, 'we have to understand the opportunities and threats from China's technological offer - understand the global nature of supply chains and service provision, irrespective of the flag of the supplier'.

'Take a clear view on the implications of China's technological acquisition strategy in the West, and help our governments decide which parts of this expansion can be embraced, which need risk management, and which will always need a sovereign, or allied, solution.

'How we deal with it will be crucial for prosperity and security way beyond 5G contracts.'

Fleming went on to call for more robust cyber-security throughout the telecoms sector It's hard to argue with this view.

What's Huawei saying?

We've all seen the adverts comparing Huawei's dominance in 5G to the All Blacks and rugby. But apart from that, there's not really been anything substantial from Huawei officials.

That all changed this week as Huawei's rotating chairman Guo Ping said: 'Huawei needs to abide by Chinese laws and also by the laws outside China if we operate in those countries. Huawei will never, and dare not, and cannot violate any rules and regulations in the countries where we operate.'

Encouraging stuff, but the next steps are complicated.

From a technology point-of-view, I really don't like the idea of us excluding ourselves from the best the industry has to offer.

Fortunately, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is making sensible noises. 'The GCSB have gone back to Spark, said they have had some concerns, and given them the option of mitigating those concerns … that is where the process currently now sits so we are still midway through a process here.'

Ardern went on to state that New Zealand wasn't bound to follow either the UK's or the US', intelligence agencies. That said, if the UK gives Huawei the green light I think New Zealand will find a way too.

Watch this space.