US says Huawei used to enable Chinese spying, but UK National Cyber Security Centre head Ciaran Martin says no evidence of malicious activity
- Britain is a key battleground for Huawei in its campaign to resist US pressure in Europe
Britain is able to manage the security risks of using Huawei telecoms equipment and has not seen any evidence of malicious activity by the company, a senior official said on Wednesday, pushing back against US allegations of Chinese state spying.
“Our regime is arguably the toughest and most rigorous oversight regime in the world for Huawei,” Martin, whose NCSC is part of Britain’s GCHQ intelligence agency, said at a cybersecurity conference in Brussels.
Asked later whether Washington had presented Britain with any evidence to support its allegations, he told reporters: “I would be obliged to report if there was evidence of malevolence … by Huawei. And we’re yet to have to do that. So I hope that covers it.”
Huawei, the world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment, faces intense scrutiny in the West over its relationship with the Chinese government and US-led allegations of enabling state espionage, with Washington calling for allies not to use the company’s technology.