A UK parliamentary inquiry into 5G security has concluded that there is "clear evidence of collusion between Huawei and the Chinese state". The report from the Defence Select Committee supports the government decision to remove Huawei from the UK 5G network by 2027, but notes that developments could force this date to be moved forward, potentially to 2025.
The 'Security of 5G' report says that dependency on mobile connectivity will be increased by the development of 5G, opening up the UK to security risks such as sabotage, espionage and system failure. It makes several recommendations on areas such as the risks of Huawei, UK government response and working with allies.
The report supports the designation of Huawei as a high-risk vendor and described the government decision to remove them from the UK 5G network as 'appropriate' and 'justified'. In the meantime, the Committee is confident that Huawei has been sufficiently distanced from sensitive national security and defence sites. Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood called on the West to urgently join forces to counteract China's technology dominance, and warned that the UK cannot endanger national security for 'short-term technological development'.
Global co-operation needed between democratic allies
The report highlights a lack of global rules regulating international cyber attacks, and calls on the UK government to work with allies to develop a system to provide accountability for perpetrators. The Committee supports proposals to establish a global D10 alliance of the ten largest democracies in the world to provide alternatives to Chinese technology, and to counteract the technological dominance of authoritarian countries.
MPs also want the government to continue denouncing and deterring threats from countries such as Russia and China. They also found the existing regulatory framework for network security to be 'outdated and unsatisfactory', with the current situation leading to commercial concerns outweighing national security ones. The Committee believes that the planned Telecoms Security Bill, which will allow the government to force operators to act in the interests of security, is necessary to improve regulatory powers and should be introduced before end-2020.
Huawei rejected the conclusions of the report, telling the BBC that it "lacks credibility" and is based "on opinion rather than fact". A company spokesperson said Huawei was confident that people would not believe these accusations and would remember what it has done for the UK over the last 20 years.
