Huawei hits back
Chinese telecommunications group Huawei has again defended its business practices in the face of its ban from contracts for the National Broadband Network.
Reports in a recent Australian finance industry publication have again accused Huawei of being a significant security threat to the US and Australia, and said that it has spied for the Chinese government. The allegations reportedly come from a former high-ranking CIA member.
The Federal Government blocked Huawei from bidding for any contracts in the rollout of the National Broadband Network, after fears were raised that the company may seek to install back-doors in its technology to allow foreign sources to spy on Australian telecommunications.
In an interview over the weekend a spokesperson for Huawei has rubbished claims of the company’s nefarious intent, security issues and the credibility of those who seek to harm the Chinese phone corporation.
Huawei Australia's spokesman, Luke Coleman, said: “Ridiculous allegations have been levelled at us for years and once again today just like in the past; there is not a scrap of evidence to back it up. People have been saying these things for a long time but for years and years we've never seen any evidence.”
When asked why US General and ex-CIA head, Michael Hayden, a man with four decades of intelligence work, might say that Huawei is a company to watch, Mr Coleman said; “this particular speaker has no credibility... he's a board member of Motorola. Another one of his fellow board members on Motorola, I think he's on the board of Cisco... so this guy really doesn't have the credibility to come out and speak against Huawei.”
Mr Coleman said his company was working on 7 projects similar to the National Broadband Network in other countries around the world, and that there should be no reticence from Australia for Huawei to take on services there.