Bell not worried* despite U.S. concerns on Huawei
On Monday the House of Representatives’ permanent select committee on intelligence issued a stinging rebuke to privately-held Huawei Technologies and ZTE on their potential security threat to U.S. interests given their “potential” ties to the Chinese government.
“Based on available classified and unclassified information, Huawei and ZTE cannot be trusted to be free of foreign state influence and thus pose a security threat to the United States and to our systems,” the report said.
The finding raises concern in this country because Huawei is a major equipment supplier to BCE Inc.’s Bell Canada, Telus Corp., Videotron and SaskTel. ZTE is a supplier to Public Mobile.
Huawei employs about 450 people in Canada, including 137 in a major research facility in the Ottawa area.
“We recognize, that as a Chinese-based telecommunications company, it is fair and reasonable to expect that we would be under some scrutiny from government,” Huawei Canada said in a statement. “For this reason, we have worked to conduct ourselves in a manner that positively reflects our contribution to Canada.
“We work with over 500 companies worldwide, in 150 countries. Last year alone, Huawei sold over $32B in equipment globally. Similar to Canada, we are also making significant investments to expand locally in other major markets, including the United Kingdom.”
In September the Globe and Mail reported that the Canadian government has pondered the possible threat of Huawei equipment on telecom networks here.
This morning, a Bell spokesman issued a statement saying the telco has no worries.
“Bell networks are secure,” the statement said. “Indeed our high levels of security are a primary reason most Canadian governments and businesses choose to rely on Bell network services.
“Bell has the scale to operate at a global level and we manage security appropriately with all our network suppliers, including Canadian, American and international partners such as Huawei, Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens and others.
“For a company like Bell, security is of primary importance. We work with government and the Canadian and international telecom industry to ensure Bell always offers the highest possible levels of security to our customers.
“We are confident in our network suppliers, including of course Huawei. Huawei partners with most of the world’s major wireless carriers, including Bell, Telus and others here in Canada.
Telecom analyst Iain Grant of the SeaBoard Group consultancy issued a tart retort to the committee report.
“I am not sure that the technical judgement of the U.S. Congress is ayardstick that Canadian companies need to consider when making technical decisions.
“Canadian companies assess the attraction of Huawei gear on its merits, on function, on delivery and timeliness, on quality of what is delivered and on price. Paranoia is not a measurement they find germane.”
“Canadian companies assess the attraction of Huawei gear on its merits, on function, on delivery and timeliness, on quality of what is delivered and on price. Paranoia is not a measurement they find germane.”
A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said the Harper government “is working to ensure that any risks to Canada’s telecommunications sector are identified and addressed” by working with carriers through the government’s Cyber Security Strategy, announced in 2010.
Ironically, it was Huawei that asked the U.S. government last year to investigate allegations that it has ties to the Chinese government.
“The allegation that Huawei somehow poses a threat to the national security of the
United States has centered on a mistaken belief that our company can use our technology to steal confidential information in the United States or launch network
attacks on entities in the U.S at a specific time,” wrote Ken Hu, Huawei’s deputy chair. “There is no evidence that Huawei has violated any security rules. Not only that, in the United States we hire independent third-party security companies, such as EWA, to audit our products in order to certify the safety and reliability of the products at the source code level. In addition, Huawei has established a “trusted delivery” model to protect the security of networks we supply.
But after hearings the congressional committee said there isn’t enough information to come to a conclusion about Huawei and ZTE.
“Despite hours of interviews, extensive and repeated document requests, a review of open-source information, and an open hearing with witnesses from both companies, the committee remains unsatisfied with the level of co-operation and candor provided by each company,” its report says.
“Neither company was willing to provide sufficient evidence to ameliorate the committee’s concerns. Neither company was forthcoming with detailed information about its formal relationships or regulatory interaction with Chinese authorities. Neither company provided specific details about the precise role of each company’s Chinese Communist Party Committee.
“Furthermore, neither company provided detailed information about its operations in the United States. Huawei, in particular, failed to providethorough information about its corporate structure, history, ownership, operations,financial arrangements, or management. Most importantly, neither company provided sufficient internal documentation or other evidence to support the limited answers they did provide to committee investigators.”
As a result, the committee said U.S. government systems shouldn’t include equipment from Huawei or ZTE, nor should systems of government contractors. That would include U.S. network providers and data centre outsourcers.
The committee also said private sector companies should “consider the long-term security risks” of buying equipment and services from Huawei or ZTE.
January 26, 2019
Nortel and Telus
are using Huawei equipment now
to deploy fibre-optic networks covertly, for awhile now. Just how much work has been completed to date!
JAN 25, 2019
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National carriers Bell and Telus after being probed, confirmed that in recent years they have been using Huawei fibre-optic cables to build out fixed-line networks, despite growing cybersecurity concerns surrounding the company.
According to anonymous sources cited in a January 24th Globe and Mail article, both carriers have spent billions over the past years to replace legacy copper telephone wires with fibre-optic cables. The upgrade delivers faster internet speeds and services. Both carriers used Huawei as an “additional vendor” to put pressure on its main supplier, Finland’s Nokia, for better prices and terms.
Canada is currently in the middle of a huge mess with China over telecommunications giant Huawei and the arrest of its global chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou. Meng was arrested in Vancouver while in transit to Mexico. She was granted bail but currently faces extradition to the U.S., where authorities reportedly said she deceived international banks to funnel transactions between Huawei and Iran. Meng has maintained that Huawei has no connection or involvement.
In Canada, Huawei has been partnered with Bell and Telus to provide equipment to deploy 5G mobile network infrastructure, quietly. Currently, Canada is conducting two reviews, one on the future of 5G technology in Canada, and another on the cybersecurity concerns surrounding Huawei and whether the government should ban them for national security concerns over spying.
The U.S. banned Huawei in August out of fear of cybersecurity, and spying concerns. Following the U.S., Australia and New Zealand also banned the company. Since then the UK has done so. The four nations are part of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing group that shares information and intelligence regarding terrorism, security and espionage. Canada is the other member, and has not banned Huawei. We ask why?
The Globe and Mail reports that Bell and Telus used Huawei for its gigabit-capable passive optical network (GPON), which is generally used to fill in the last stretch of connection between a network provider and the customer. According to the publication’s sources, to deploy this type of system, there is a terminal located somewhere in a neighbourhood that contains a large strand of fibre split into tiny strands. A second terminal, much smaller, is placed in a customer’s home and an optical signal is sent from the main terminal strands using light. It’s converted into ethernet signal and then connected to the user’s modem. The equipment is part of the network core where sensitive data is stored, and the sources said that the carriers are working with the government testing the security of this equipment.
This security testing "arrangement" is similar to the agreement the federal government has with carriers that use Huawei for radios and antennas but not in their core network.
MobileSyrup has reached out to Bell and Telus for comment and will update the article with additional information.
In the Globe and Mail’s report, Bell Spokesperson Marc Choma said that the company works with several network equipment providers to supply equipment in deploying GPON. He added that suppliers go through security screening.
To reassure us, Telus spokesman Richard Gilhooley said the carrier doesn't rely on Huawei very much, that the company mainly uses Nokia’s technology.
JAN 25, 2019
National carriers Bell and Telus after being probed, confirmed that in recent years they have been using Huawei fibre-optic cables to build out fixed-line networks, despite growing cybersecurity concerns surrounding the company.
According to anonymous sources cited in a January 24th Globe and Mail article, both carriers have spent billions over the past years to replace legacy copper telephone wires with fibre-optic cables. The upgrade delivers faster internet speeds and services. Both carriers used Huawei as an “additional vendor” to put pressure on its main supplier, Finland’s Nokia, for better prices and terms.
Canada is currently in the middle of a huge mess with China over telecommunications giant Huawei and the arrest of its global chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou. Meng was arrested in Vancouver while in transit to Mexico. She was granted bail but currently faces extradition to the U.S., where authorities reportedly said she deceived international banks to funnel transactions between Huawei and Iran. Meng has maintained that Huawei has no connection or involvement.
In Canada, Huawei has been partnered with Bell and Telus to provide equipment to deploy 5G mobile network infrastructure, quietly. Currently, Canada is conducting two reviews, one on the future of 5G technology in Canada, and another on the cybersecurity concerns surrounding Huawei and whether the government should ban them for national security concerns over spying.
The U.S. banned Huawei in August out of fear of cybersecurity, and spying concerns. Following the U.S., Australia and New Zealand also banned the company. Since then the UK has done so. The four nations are part of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing group that shares information and intelligence regarding terrorism, security and espionage. Canada is the other member, and has not banned Huawei. We ask why?
The Globe and Mail reports that Bell and Telus used Huawei for its gigabit-capable passive optical network (GPON), which is generally used to fill in the last stretch of connection between a network provider and the customer. According to the publication’s sources, to deploy this type of system, there is a terminal located somewhere in a neighbourhood that contains a large strand of fibre split into tiny strands. A second terminal, much smaller, is placed in a customer’s home and an optical signal is sent from the main terminal strands using light. It’s converted into ethernet signal and then connected to the user’s modem. The equipment is part of the network core where sensitive data is stored, and the sources said that the carriers are working with the government testing the security of this equipment.
This security testing "arrangement" is similar to the agreement the federal government has with carriers that use Huawei for radios and antennas but not in their core network.
MobileSyrup has reached out to Bell and Telus for comment and will update the article with additional information.
In the Globe and Mail’s report, Bell Spokesperson Marc Choma said that the company works with several network equipment providers to supply equipment in deploying GPON. He added that suppliers go through security screening.
To reassure us, Telus spokesman Richard Gilhooley said the carrier doesn't rely on Huawei very much, that the company mainly uses Nokia’s technology.
May 15,2012
Chinese Firm Huawei And Its Canadian Contracts Raises Security Concerns
The former head of U.S. counter-espionage says the Harper government is putting North American security at risk by allowing a giant Chinese technology company to participate in major Canadian telecommunications projects.
In an exclusive interview in Washington, Michelle K. Van Cleave told CBC News the involvement of Huawei Technologies in Canadian telecom networks risks turning the information highway into a freeway for Chinese espionage against both the U.S. and Canada.
Huawei has long argued there is no evidence linking the company to the growing tidal wave of international computer hacking and other forms of espionage originating in China.
Nonetheless, the U.S. and Australia have already blocked Huawei from major telecom projects in those countries, and otherwise made it clear they regard China's largest telecommunications company as a potential security threat.
Van Cleave, who served as top spy-catcher for the Bush administration until 2006, describes Huawei as a potential "stalking horse" for Chinese military and intelligence objectives.
Even Canada's own intelligence agencies have warned the Harper government of the risks of throwing open the door to Chinese telecom companies.
Despite all the warnings, the federal and Ontario governments have rolled out the red carpet to Huawei, officially praising the Chinese company's partnerships in Canadian telecom projects with Telus, Bell, SaskTel and WIND Mobile.
During a recent visit to China, for instance, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was "honoured" to have witnessed the signing of large contracts for Huawei to provide Telus and Bell with the latest LTE high-speed wireless networks across Canada.
Among its many large customers, Telus has just signed a $250-million contract to provide the Canadian military with secure voice and data services worldwide.
The Ontario government has been equally enthusiastic toward Huawei, giving the telecom giant $6.5 million of taxpayers' money to locate its Canadian office and a "research facility" in the province.
Huawei last year had worldwide revenues of more than $32 billion.
For its part, Huawei has long confronted its critics with claims to be just another multinational corporation owned by its employees, free of Chinese government control, adding it would be commercially suicidal to engage in espionage.
Huawei declined to be interviewed by the CBC. Instead, the company issued a written statement late Tuesday saying, in part, that the company ensures "all our stakeholders, including governments, have a clear understanding of the tools we use to protect the integrity of our customers' networks to the highest standards.
"Over the past four years, we've worked openly and transparently in consultation with our customers and government to meet these requirements."
Van Cleave sees things differently.
"China is a totalitarian government, and Huawei operates at the sufferance of the government, and those relationships are there. Even if Huawei management wished them away, they would still be there."
Van Cleave says the intelligence community fears digital "back doors" could be hidden in the telecommunications networks, allowing spies to steal American and Canadian secrets and ultimately disrupt everything from public utilities to military operations in the event of international conflict.
She says the U.S. government's actions to prevent Huawei from taking over U.S. telecom companies, or participating in major infrastructure projects, "is the right thing to be doing."
'Considerable risk' to Canadians
The Harper government's own Department of Public Safety warned more than a year ago that Canada's telecommunications network is too important to be left to foreign companies.
In a secret memo written in 2011 and obtained under the Access to Information Act, a senior public safety official says "the security and intelligence community" believes that throwing open the Canadian telecom market to foreign companies "would pose a considerable risk to public safety and national security."
Van Cleave says China indeed remains the No. 1 espionage threat to the United States, mainly through computer hacking aimed at stealing everything from proprietary technologies to defence secrets.
And it's only getting worse.
The former counter-intelligence boss says frankly: "I would be hard-pressed to say we are winning."
The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that in 2009 alone, Chinese theft of U.S. intellectual property cost almost a million American jobs, and $48 billion in economic losses.
Van Cleave wonders why Canada hasn't intervened with Huawei.
"Isn't there a process for… the [Canadian] government to step in?"
Canada targeted by hackers
Last year, the Canadian government itself was hit with its worst-ever hacking attack from China, penetrating the highly classified computer systems in at least three federal departments: Finance, Treasury Board and Defence Research.
Documents obtained by CBC show the hackers managed to steal large amounts of classified data before the computer systems could be shut down.
Eighteen months later, those computer systems remain corrupted and unable to connect directly to most of the internet without losing more data to the as-yet-unidentified Chinese spies.
More recently, a former executive of now bankrupt Nortel has blamed Chinese technology theft for hastening the demise of the former Canadian telecom giant.
So, why is the Canadian government greeting Huawei with open arms?
From a business perspective, Huawei is apparently hard to resist.
The upstart WIND Mobile, for instance, used Huawei to build a whole new wireless network in Canada, and has publicly gushed about the Chinese company's high-quality products, reliable service and lower prices than the competition.
China's exploding marketplace of over a billion consumers is also an offer most multinational companies and Western governments — Canada's included — find hard to refuse.
The Harper government, for one, has done a complete about-face with respect to China over the past six years, from a prime ministerial cold shoulder to an all-out trade love-in.
Huawei is bending over backward to show it is a good corporate citizen. For instance, it has put up $1.4 million along with Telus to fund a new centre for cutting-edge research into so-called cloud computing at Ottawa's Carleton University.
Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a security expert and former member of Canada's spy service, says the Harper government is "absolutely" taking a big risk with Huawei, and appears to be ignoring warnings from the U.S., Australia and other allies.
He says there's little doubt CSIS "did its homework" on Huawei, and passed along the information and resulting security recommendations to the Prime Minister's Office.
"Unfortunately, the PMO is very nonchalant when it comes to security," said the intelligence expert. "They have an agenda, a political agenda … and they disregard some of the warnings coming from the official agencies."
Juneau-Katsuya said one of the dangers in Huawei's having access to the Canadian telecommunications network is that it could damage intelligence sharing with the Americans.
He says Canada remains one of China's most important espionage targets precisely because of our close intelligence relationship with the U.S. and other allies.
"If we have not taken certain responsibilities and certain steps to protect ourselves, then our allies will have to assume we have been compromised, and cut communication from their end."
U.S., Australia wary
One thing the Canadian government could not possibly have missed is all the controversy about Huawei in the U.S. and Australia.
In the past five years, there has not been a time when at least one U.S. government agency involved in security hasn't been holding hearings, writing reports and otherwise investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese telecommunications companies such as Huawei.
The CIA, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the Pentagon, the White House, Congress, the list goes on — all of them have tried to dissect Huawei's activities and intentions in the U.S. and beyond.
The latest of these is an investigation by the powerful House intelligence committee into "the threat posed by Chinese-owned telecommunications companies."
In announcing the probe, committee chairman Mike Rogers said: "We are looking at the overall infrastructure threat and Huawei happens to be the 800-pound gorilla in the room.
"As the formal investigation begins, I stand by my caution to the American business community about engaging Huawei technology until we can fully determine their motives."
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, an independent agency created by Congress, has produced two thick reports on the role of Chinese telecoms in the growing problem of cyber-espionage against the West.
Both reports conclude there is reason to be wary of Huawei.
Mike Wessel is a sitting member of the commission, and suggests Huawei is a clear and present danger to both the U.S. and Canada.
"Our [telecommunications] systems are not only seamless, they are completely intertwined," Wessel said in an interview with CBC News.
"If it's a security concern for us … why aren't we concerned about what may be happening across the border?"
Australia has taken an even tougher stand than the U.S., telling Huawei there was no point even bidding on that country's largest ever telecommunications expansion.
The Chinese government has dismissed the allegations, accusing Australia of trade protectionism.
But Australia's foreign affairs minister, Bob Carr, later told reporters that the decision on Huawei was purely "on security grounds, reflecting a focus by Australia on the resilience and security of core infrastructure."
Bell and Telus declined interview requests for this story but issued prepared statements.
Bell states in part: "For a company like Bell, security is of primary importance. We work with government and the Canadian and international telecom industry to ensure Bell always offers the highest possible levels of security to our customers.
"We are confident in our network suppliers, including of course Huawei [which]
partners with most of the world's carriers."
Telus never mentions Huawei in its statement: "Like all telecommunications companies, we implement the best security safeguards into our network leveraging our own extensive expertise, and the expertise of federal security agencies."
Finally, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews issued a written statement late Tuesday saying that while the government has taken "strong steps" to open the mobile phone sector to competition, it will "continue to ensure that Canadians can rely on telecommunications infrastructure that's safe and secure."
One of the most vocal and colourful critics of Huawei in Washington is congressman Frank R. Wolf.
"The Chinese are the most aggressive spying in this town, and my sense is in Canada and many other places," Wolf said in a recent interview on Capitol Hill.
The congressman comes by his concern about Chinese cyber-espionage through personal experience.
In 2007, hackers traced to China hit his congressional office computers, "and got to everything."
March 7, 2016
March 7, 2016
Chinese firm's Canadian contracts raise security fears
Barred by the U.S. and Australia, tech giant Huawei makes inroads in Canada
May 15, 2012
The former head of U.S. counter-espionage says the Harper government is putting North American security at risk by allowing a giant Chinese technology company to participate in major Canadian telecommunications projects.
The former head of U.S. counter-espionage says the Harper government is putting North American security at risk by allowing a giant Chinese technology company to participate in major Canadian telecommunications projects.
In an exclusive interview in Washington, Michelle K. Van Cleave told CBC News the involvement of Huawei Technologies in Canadian telecom networks risks turning the information highway into a freeway for Chinese espionage against both the U.S. and Canada.
Huawei has long argued there is no evidence linking the company to the growing tidal wave of international computer hacking and other forms of espionage originating in China.
Nonetheless, the U.S. and Australia have already blocked Huawei from major telecom projects in those countries, and otherwise made it clear they regard China's largest telecommunications company as a potential security threat.
Van Cleave, who served as top spy-catcher for the Bush administration until 2006, describes Huawei as a potential "stalking horse" for Chinese military and intelligence objectives.
Despite all the warnings, the federal and Ontario governments have rolled out the red carpet to Huawei, officially praising the Chinese company's partnerships in Canadian telecom projects with Telus, Bell, SaskTel and WIND Mobile.
During a recent visit to China, for instance, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was "honoured" to have witnessed the signing of large contracts for Huawei to provide Telus and Bell with the latest LTE high-speed wireless networks across Canada.
Among its many large customers, Telus has just signed a $250-million contract to provide the Canadian military with secure voice and data services worldwide.
The Ontario government has been equally enthusiastic toward Huawei, giving the telecom giant $6.5 million of taxpayers' money to locate its Canadian office and a "research facility" in the province.
Huawei last year had worldwide revenues of more than $32 billion.
For its part, Huawei has long confronted its critics with claims to be just another multinational corporation owned by its employees, free of Chinese government control, adding it would be commercially suicidal to engage in espionage.
Huawei declined to be interviewed by the CBC. Instead, the company issued a written statement late Tuesday saying, in part, that the company ensures "all our stakeholders, including governments, have a clear understanding of the tools we use to protect the integrity of our customers' networks to the highest standards.
"Over the past four years, we've worked openly and transparently in consultation with our customers and government to meet these requirements."
Van Cleave sees things differently.
"China is a totalitarian government, and Huawei operates at the sufferance of the government, and those relationships are there. Even if Huawei management wished them away, they would still be there."
Van Cleave says the intelligence community fears digital "back doors" could be hidden in the telecommunications networks, allowing spies to steal American and Canadian secrets and ultimately disrupt everything from public utilities to military operations in the event of international conflict.
She says the U.S. government's actions to prevent Huawei from taking over U.S. telecom companies, or participating in major infrastructure projects, "is the right thing to be doing."
'Considerable risk' to Canadians
The Harper government's own Department of Public Safety warned more than a year ago that Canada's telecommunications network is too important to be left to foreign companies.
In a secret memo written in 2011 and obtained under the Access to Information Act, a senior public safety official says "the security and intelligence community" believes that throwing open the Canadian telecom market to foreign companies "would pose a considerable risk to public safety and national security."
Canada targeted by hackers
Last year, the Canadian government itself was hit with its worst-ever hacking attack from China, penetrating the highly classified computer systems in at least three federal departments: Finance, Treasury Board and Defence Research.
Documents obtained by CBC show the hackers managed to steal large amounts of classified data before the computer systems could be shut down.
Eighteen months later, those computer systems remain corrupted and unable to connect directly to most of the internet without losing more data to the as-yet-unidentified Chinese spies.
More recently, a former executive of now bankrupt Nortel has blamed Chinese technology theft for hastening the demise of the former Canadian telecom giant.
So, why is the Canadian government greeting Huawei with open arms?
From a business perspective, Huawei is apparently hard to resist.
The upstart WIND Mobile, for instance, used Huawei to build a whole new wireless network in Canada, and has publicly gushed about the Chinese company's high-quality products, reliable service and lower prices than the competition.
China's exploding marketplace of over a billion consumers is also an offer most multinational companies and Western governments — Canada's included — find hard to refuse.
The Harper government, for one, has done a complete about-face with respect to China over the past six years, from a prime ministerial cold shoulder to an all-out trade love-in.
Huawei is bending over backward to show it is a good corporate citizen. For instance, it has put up $1.4 million along with Telus to fund a new centre for cutting-edge research into so-called cloud computing at Ottawa's Carleton University.
Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a security expert and former member of Canada's spy service, says the Harper government is "absolutely" taking a big risk with Huawei, and appears to be ignoring warnings from the U.S., Australia and other allies.
He says there's little doubt CSIS "did its homework" on Huawei, and passed along the information and resulting security recommendations to the Prime Minister's Office.
"Unfortunately, the PMO is very nonchalant when it comes to security," said the intelligence expert. "They have an agenda, a political agenda … and they disregard some of the warnings coming from the official agencies."
Juneau-Katsuya said one of the dangers in Huawei's having access to the Canadian telecommunications network is that it could damage intelligence sharing with the Americans.
He says Canada remains one of China's most important espionage targets precisely because of our close intelligence relationship with the U.S. and other allies.
"If we have not taken certain responsibilities and certain steps to protect ourselves, then our allies will have to assume we have been compromised, and cut communication from their end."
U.S., Australia wary
One thing the Canadian government could not possibly have missed is all the controversy about Huawei in the U.S. and Australia.
In the past five years, there has not been a time when at least one U.S. government agency involved in security hasn't been holding hearings, writing reports and otherwise investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese telecommunications companies such as Huawei.
The CIA, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the Pentagon, the White House, Congress, the list goes on — all of them have tried to dissect Huawei's activities and intentions in the U.S. and beyond.
The latest of these is an investigation by the powerful House intelligence committee into "the threat posed by Chinese-owned telecommunications companies."
In announcing the probe, committee chairman Mike Rogers said: "We are looking at the overall infrastructure threat and Huawei happens to be the 800-pound gorilla in the room.
"As the formal investigation begins, I stand by my caution to the American business community about engaging Huawei technology until we can fully determine their motives."
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, an independent agency created by Congress, has produced two thick reports on the role of Chinese telecoms in the growing problem of cyber-espionage against the West.
Both reports conclude there is reason to be wary of Huawei.
Mike Wessel is a sitting member of the commission, and suggests Huawei is a clear and present danger to both the U.S. and Canada.
"Our [telecommunications] systems are not only seamless, they are completely intertwined," Wessel said in an interview with CBC News.
"If it's a security concern for us … why aren't we concerned about what may be happening across the border?"
Australia has taken an even tougher stand than the U.S., telling Huawei there was no point even bidding on that country's largest ever telecommunications expansion.
The Chinese government has dismissed the allegations, accusing Australia of trade protectionism.
But Australia's foreign affairs minister, Bob Carr, later told reporters that the decision on Huawei was purely "on security grounds, reflecting a focus by Australia on the resilience and security of core infrastructure."
Bell and Telus declined interview requests for this story but issued prepared statements.
Bell states in part: "For a company like Bell, security is of primary importance. We work with government and the Canadian and international telecom industry to ensure Bell always offers the highest possible levels of security to our customers.
"We are confident in our network suppliers, including of course Huawei [which]
partners with most of the world's carriers."
Telus never mentions Huawei in its statement: "Like all telecommunications companies, we implement the best security safeguards into our network leveraging our own extensive expertise, and the expertise of federal security agencies."
Finally, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews issued a written statement late Tuesday saying that while the government has taken "strong steps" to open the mobile phone sector to competition, it will "continue to ensure that Canadians can rely on telecommunications infrastructure that's safe and secure."
One of the most vocal and colourful critics of Huawei in Washington is congressman Frank R. Wolf.
"The Chinese are the most aggressive spying in this town, and my sense is in Canada and many other places," Wolf said in a recent interview on Capitol Hill.
The congressman comes by his concern about Chinese cyber-espionage through personal experience.
In 2007, hackers traced to China hit his congressional office computers, "and got to everything."
Five Eyes spy chiefs warned Trudeau
twice about Huawei national-security risk
Spy chiefs from the Five Eyes intelligence network briefed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on two occasions this year about the national-security threat from Chinese high-tech giant Huawei − meetings that took place months before Canada’s arrest of a top Huawei executive severely strained relations with Beijing.
Sources say Mr. Trudeau met the spy directors at a Five Eyes meeting in mid-July in Nova Scotia and at secret intelligence talks on the sidelines of the Commonwealth summit in London in April, where Huawei and its ties to the Chinese government dominated discussion.
The Five Eyes network is made up of Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, which co-operate to combat espionage, terrorism and global crime.
During the discussions in Halifax and London, sources said the spy chiefs demanded that their countries cannot become dependent upon Huawei’s 5G technology because the Shenzen-based company is beholden to the Communist Chinese state. Under Chinese law, the country’s companies must work with China’s intelligence agencies as written.
Senior federal officials, including the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, would not discuss the Five Eyes deliberations on Huawei.
“CSIS will not comment on the nature or substance of meetings held with its Five Eyes partners. Canada’s relationship with these partners remains strong and is focused on keeping Canada safe from a variety of threats,” CSIS chief information officer Tahera Mufti said in a statement.
Mr. Trudeau is facing a tough decision on whether to join the rest of his Five Eyes allies and bar Huawei equipment from being used in next-generation 5G mobile networks.
China is already upset with Canada’s arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou at the request of U.S. law-enforcement officials. Beijing has detained two Canadians – entrepreneur Michael Spavor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig − in what appears to be tit-for-tat reprisals.
China maintains that the arrest of Ms. Meng is a premeditated attempt by Canada and the United States to undermine Huawei, whose founder is Ms. Meng’s father.
Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said Beijing will retaliate against Canada if Ottawa bars Huawei from the country’s 5G networks.
The United States was the first Five Eyes country to block Huawei but the Chinese leadership is wary of reprisals against American interests, he said.
“China has a tendency to go after the junior partner instead of attacking the big guy who is the source of the problem,” he said. It’s not always easy to measure reprisals because it would entail missed opportunities and failed ventures that may not always be explicitly earmarked by China as retaliation.
Mr. Trudeau said his cabinet will consider recommendations of national-security officials who are currently conducting a cybersecurity review of of Huawei. A decision is expected early in the New Year.
“The determination of the threat [Huawei] represents is something we entrust to our professionals in our intelligence and security agencies and that is very much who we work with to determine how best to protect Canadians,” Mr. Trudeau told CTV’s Question Period on Sunday. "We will consider the recommendations of our security agencies, not based on politics.”
Huawei is denying it acts for the Chinese state, and its Canadian vice-president, Scott Bradley, said the company has been working “openly and transparently” with the Canadian government and domestic telecoms for a decade to satisfy national-security threats.
The Australia-based Sydney Morning Herald reported Friday that the Halifax meeting led to a Five Eyes decision to launch an unprecedented campaign to block Huawei from supplying equipment for next-generation 5G wireless technology.
The campaign has been led by U.S. national-security officials who have briefed allies and telecom executives, warning that Huawei is connected to the Chinese state and that the company’s network equipment contains back doors that could open the countries up to cyberespionage threats and war.
The global lobbying effort has payed off amongst the many Canadian allies.
In August, Australia announced that it would join the U.S. and bar Huawei equipment from their nascent 5G network and, in late November, New Zealand blocked the first request from one of its wireless carriers to install the Chinese firm’s equipment on a coming 5G network.
On Wednesday, Japan’s three major telecom giants decided to exclude Huawei’s gear in their 5G networks while the country plans to ban the Chinese conglomerate from bidding on government contracts.
France’s wireless carrier Orange announced on Friday that it would not hire the Chinese telecom giant to build its 5G network and Germany’s Deutsche Telekom – Europe’s largest telecommunication company – said it is now reconsidering its relationship with Huawei.
Orange CEO Stéphane Richard told reporters in Paris that the security concerns about Huawei are legitimate and sound.
“I absolutely understand that all our countries and the French authorities are preoccupied [with Huawei]. We are too," he said. Deutsche told Reuters in a statement: “Deutsche Telekom takes the global discussion about the security network equipment from Chinese vendors very seriously.”
A week ago, one of Britain’s major telecoms, BT Group, said it was tearing out Huawei equipment from its network and would not buy the company’s 5G gear – a move that came after Alex Younger, the head of Britain’s secret service, known as MI6, questioned whether his country should be in business with Huawei.
South Korea’s largest telecom, SK Telecom, has also announced that it will not allow Huawei to be a preferred bidder for 5G technology.
The prospect of Canada barring Huawei from this country’s 5G mobile network threatens to disrupt purchasing plans for Canadian wireless carriers.
The Globe and Mail reported last week, citing industry sources, that it would cost Bell and Telus more than $1-billion to rip out and replace Huawei equipment. Rogers Communications is partnering with Huawei’s Swedish rival, Ericsson, on 5G technology.
Federal lobbying-registry records show that lobbyists for Bell have held more than 35 meetings with Canadian government officials, including Mr. Trudeau, in the last half of 2018. The registry also indicates that over the same period, Telus lobbyists met more than 25 times with Canadian officials, including in the Prime Minister’s Office and in the departments of Innovation and Finance.
Spokespeople for Bell and Telus did not immediately return requests for comment on whether these meetings were set up to discuss the future of Huawei equipment. As major carriers, both companies have a multitude of reasons to talk to Ottawa.
