British Intelligence Warns British Telecom about its Huawei Equipment

Last Updated on Monday, 30 March 2009 09:00 Written by admin Monday, 30 March 2009 09:00

This is the stuff of nightmares in the minds of some of the brightest security pros that I know.

INTELLIGENCE chiefs have warned that China may have gained the capability to shut down Britain by crippling its telecoms and utilities.

They have told ministers of their fears that equipment installed by Huawei, the Chinese telecoms giant, in BT’s new communications network could be used to halt critical services such as power, food and water supplies.

The warnings coincide with growing cyberwarfare attacks on Britain by foreign governments, particularly Russia and China.

A confidential document circulating in Whitehall says that while BT has taken steps to reduce the risk of attacks by hackers or organised crime, “we believe that the mitigating measures are not effective against deliberate attack by China”.

The U.S. government blocked an effort by Huawei to merge with 3Com which sells electronic equipment to the Pentagon. Why? Because Huawei’s CEO is a former PLA officer and the company itself emerged from the world of defense suppliers to become a commercial corporation by order of Deng Xiaoping.

A brief mention of Huawei appears in last week’s Pentagon report on China:

Information technology companies, including Huawei, Datang, and Zhongxing, maintain close ties to the PLA and collaborate on R&D.

This Times Online story plus the release of the GhostNet and Snooping Dragon studies over the weekend serves to reinforce the reality that every Western government needs to be aware of China’s long standing commitment to Information Warfare and the many forms that it can take.