The White House Denies Ordering a Secret Report Clearing Huawei of Espionage

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2012/10/white-house-denies-ordering-secret-report-clearing-huawei-espionage/58091/

By Alexander Abad-Santos
The Atlantic Wire
Oct 18, 2012

Cue the conspiracy theories: an 18-month, Reuters says it got its hands 
on "a White House-ordered review of security risks posed by suppliers to 
U.S. telecommunications companies" that cleared Chinese telecom giant 
Huawei of allegations of actively spying on the U.S. government. But 
we're not quite sure what to make of the report, since the White House 
has denied ordering the report in the first place. "The White House has 
not conducted any classified inquiry that resulted in clearing any 
telecom equipment supplier," White House National Security Council 
spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden told Reuters. It's hard to tell if Hayden's 
comments mean that the White House hasn't yet cleared Huawei of 
espionage or if Hayden is denying that the White House was involved in 
the review on Huawei, or some combination of both.

But what we do have is Reuters touting an 18-month classified review on 
Huawei, the world's largest manufacturer of telecommunications equipment 
in the world (and is poised to get even bigger) and its espionage 
capabilities. "[I]ntelligence agencies and other departments conducted 
the largely classified inquiry, delving into reports of suspicious 
activity and asking detailed questions of nearly 1,000 telecom equipment 
buyers," writes Reuters's Joseph Menn, who is getting his information 
from two anonymous sources who are insistent that the request came from 
the White House.

According to Menn, the report states that although there are 
vulnerabilities in Huawei's telecommunications equipment, there is no 
evidence that the company is actively spying on the U.S. for China. "We 
knew certain parts of government really wanted [evidence of active 
spying] ... We would have found it if it were there," one of Menn's 
anonymous sources said.

But that might not be the full story. It's important to take into 
account that the study concluded earlier this year, and a lot can happen 
in that window of time. "For example, it is unclear if security 
vulnerabilities found in Huawei equipment were placed there 
deliberately. It is also not clear whether any critical new intelligence 
emerged after the inquiry ended," wrote Menn.

[...]


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