It seems like heads of FBI, CIA and NSA, and some other security / intelligence agencies, don’t think using Chinese smartphones is a good idea, at least as far as the US consumers are concerned. Huawei was referenced, as was ZTE, it seems. According to a report by CNBC, six top US intelligence heads told the Senate Intelligence Committee that they advise Americans against using both products and services from Huawei, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer. Senate Intelligence Committee was informed of this on Tuesday, according to the source.
Heads of FBI, CIA, NSA and the director of national intelligence actually said that they distrust both Huawei and ZTE, after which they said that they would not recommend US consumers to use products from those Chinese companies, with emphasis on Huawei, as that company has been growing extremely fast in the last couple of years, and it’s trying to penetrate to the US market. “We’re deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that don’t share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks,” said Chris Wray, FBI Director. He clearly said that he was concerned about stealing information and espionage, as those were the main reasons he suggested that US consumers should restrain themselves from using Chinese products or services. Now, Huawei actually responded to such claims, reports the source, by that using its products and services ‘poses no greater cybersecurity risk than any other ICT vendor’.
In addition to that, Huawei’s spokesperson added that the company is trusted by governments and customers in 170 countries all over the world. The company’s spokesperson also said that Huawei is aware that US government is trying to inhibit Huawei’s business in the US, but that there’s absolutely no reason for that. Now, some of you may recall that Huawei was trying to penetrate the US market through a partnership with AT&T, but that partnership was called off, while reports claimed that US lawmakers are to blame for that, as they urged AT&T not to go through with it. Now, NSA’s director, Michael Rogers, also expressed restraint when it comes to Chinese companies, advising caution, by saying: “You need to look long and hard at companies like this”. It remains to be seen what will happen next, but it seems like Huawei will have a really hard time succeeding in the US, at least to an extent they did in a number of other regions, as partnerships with US carriers seem to be extremely difficult to pull off, as US security / intelligence agencies are really skeptical when it comes to Chinese smartphone manufacturers.