Is Huawei a threat to cybersecurity?
On 31 January 2020, I joined Al Jazeera’s Inside Story to discuss the arguments for excluding Huawei from 5G networks. I appeared as a former vice president of Global Government Affairs at Huawei, alongside network-security lecturer Max Eiza and security analyst Richard Weitz.
My central argument was that network security requires managing risks, not pretending that they can be eliminated altogether. I argued that banning a supplier because of its country of origin would not solve the underlying problem. Independent technical verification offered a more useful response, and I made the case for applying the same scrutiny to all suppliers.
I also pushed back against the idea that Huawei’s success could simply be explained by unfair competition. I pointed to its investment in research and development and the economies of scale available in its enormous home market. At the same time, I acknowledged that actions by the Chinese government, including its 2017 intelligence law, had made Huawei’s position more difficult.
For me, the disagreement went well beyond cybersecurity. I argued that Washington’s determination to maintain technological leadership—and the military advantage associated with it—was central to understanding the campaign against Huawei.
Watch the interview
Related interviews
- Huawei and Britain’s 5G decision: managing the risks — 2020-01-28
- Can anyone fill the Huawei void? — 2020-07-20
Listing photo: Brett Sayles / Pexels. Illustrative image.
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