Australia should reverse its Huawei 5G ban
The ban was made under the pretext of protecting national security, yet there is no evidence that Huawei gear is insecure
The ban was made under the pretext of protecting national security, yet there is no evidence that Huawei gear is insecure. Because it is headquartered in China, Huawei has undergone more scrutiny than any other information and communications technology supplier in the world. In several markets, including the UK, its source code is reviewed by independent security experts. In the 31 years since its founding, no public evidence of wrongdoing has ever come to light. Canberra’s decision to ban the company was purely political.
Australian citizens will be paying for that decision for decades to come. 5G will form the basis of future broadband networks. By keeping a leading 5G provider out of its market, Australia has reduced the country’s supply of telecommunications infrastructure just as demand for 5G is starting to grow.
National security obviously takes precedence over download speeds. But if security is the goal, banning telecommunications equipment suppliers on the basis of geographic origin makes no sense. Today’s telecommunications industry is transnational and borderless. Threats can originate anywhere. Programmable code can be implanted virtually in hardware and software, allowing malicious actors to spy or launch a cyberattack. Unauthorised functionality can compromise the product of any company, anywhere in the world.
Australia’s government does not trust Huawei, or China, or any Chinese company. Nor should they: in the digital domain, no one should be trusted. Negotiating arms treaties with the Soviet Union, former US President Ronald Reagan said that the best approach was to “trust but verify”.
Today, smart governments will dispense with trust and proceed straight to verification. Instead of pointlessly banning individual companies, they will establish comprehensive risk mitigation procedures based on global best practices. These include hiring independent security experts to review source code and monitoring supply chains for breaches. Any other approach creates an illusion of security that actually increases risk.
While government bans do nothing to enhance security, they undermine non-discrimination and competition in fair trade, principles that in the last century have enabled the world to make some of the most impressive economic gains in human history. These include Europe’s rapid recovery following the devastation of the Second World War, and the economic reforms that lifted lift more than 800 million Chinese from poverty over the past 30 years.
Bans also block valuable inbound investments that fuel economic growth. Last year, for example, Huawei spent nearly US$15 billion on research and development – more than any US tech company, except Alphabet and Amazon. This year alone, it has spent more than US$800 million on 5G research. Australia’s economy could have benefited from those investments.
It can still do so – while at the same time, taking real steps to enhance security rather than relying on ineffectual, politically motivated bans. If Australia’s new government is serious about securing its telecommunications networks and remaining competitive in a digital age, it will rescind the ban on Huawei and allow the company to work with Australian engineers to ensure the integrity of the country’s future 5G communications infrastructure.
Meanwhile, other countries will observe Australia’s missteps and avoid repeating them.
Henry B. Wolfe, Ph.D., is a cybersecurity expert specialising in electronic forensics, surveillance, cryptography, mobile phone security, and information assurance.