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“We must remember always that accusation is not proof.” So begins a report sponsored and published by Huawei, heavily quoting a 1954 US Senate report that condemned McCarthy and his anti-Communist hysteria. The document is a prelude to Huawei’s forthcoming public testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Intelligence Committee, and its message is clear: the Chinese manufacturer is tired of how it’s being treated in America, where numerous telecoms contracts have been blocked over “national security concerns.” Huawei wants to be seen as an “opportunity” rather than a “threat,” claiming it has scope to expand its 140,000 workforce and would love to create more jobs in America — if only the US government would remove its “roadblock.”

Many other arguments are put forward, but some of the most interesting paragraphs deal with the background of Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei. The document claims that Zhengfei has been “tragically misunderstood” and that his alleged roles in the People’s Liberation Army and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are “unsubstantiated.” The report doesn’t deny those memberships ever existed, but instead downplays their significance — for example by insisting that the CCP is now focused on promoting “private entrepreneurs” and “democratization.” We admittedly stopped reading at that point, but if you’d like to continue then the full 78-page PDF, written by Dan Steinbock of the India, China and America Institute, is linked below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Mobile

Huawei complains about US spying allegations, implies McCarthy-style victimization originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 08:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh, bureaucracies, the fun in dealing with them is that you’re told exactly what they want you to know — or at least, believe. That’s the name of the game in India, where — as you’re surely aware — the government has been at odds with RIM for years over its insistence that the Waterloo firm provide the means to monitor encrypted emails and BBM messages. In a revelation that may relate to those BlackBerry servers in Mumbai, R. Chandrasekhar of India’s Department of Information Technology has asserted, “The issue is heading towards a resolution.” While it’s difficult to know whether monitoring is already in place, Chandrasekhar added that, “Law enforcement agencies will get what they need.” Another unknown is whether RIM played a role in these developments. For its part, the company claims, “RIM maintains a consistent global standard for lawful access requirements that does not include special deals for specific countries.” So, if everything is now clear as mud for you, just remember: that’s how those in charge like it.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Indian official claims BlackBerry eavesdropping standoff is ‘heading towards a resolution’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 21:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Since Huawei’s president formerly served as a senior engineer in the People’s Liberation Army of China, it’s unsurprising that it’s raised the hackles of the US and other countries. It’s been blocked from a variety of prime, security-sensitive contracts on suspicion of espionage, but the Chinese company seems bent on proving its honorable intentions, and has opened a “Cyber Security Evaluation Center” in Banbury, UK to do exactly that. According to the Economist, the company will work closely with GCHQ, the British signals-intelligence agency located in nearby Cheltenham, to persuade the UK and other governments that its equipment is trustworthy. It even has security-cleared staff, including some from the British agency, to shake down the gear and ensure it can’t be exploited by spooks or crooks. Huawei already has hefty backbone contracts in Canada and New Zealand and is becoming one of the world’s largest suppliers of telecom infrastructure, on top of its high ranking as a handset maker. It might hope this new approach will let it break its US and UK market logjam — but it has a lot of pent-up distrust to overcome.

Filed under: Cellphones, Networking

Huawei working with British spy service to prove its ‘kit’ is clean originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 07:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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