Huawei technologies has been thrust into the spotlight as its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver on Saturday.
Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, is facing possible extradition to the United States. While details of her case are sparse, reports say she is suspected of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran.
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What is Huawei Technologies and why is the Chinese company so controversial?
The company has been facing growing concerns from Western countries – with governments banning Huawei’s tech on concerns of national security.
The telecommunications giant sells cellphones, but also sells the equipment that could build the infrastructure behind the fifth-generation mobile network.
“They do far more than phones,” national security expert and Carleton University professor Stephanie Carvin said. “Bell systems, Rogers… they use Huawei technology to actually build the backbone of our telephone and internet network here in Canada.”
Having the Chinese company be so critical to the telecomm infrastructure could be a problem, former CSIS director Ward Elcock told Global News.
“All Chinese companies at the end of the day, and probably to a great degree, are susceptible to being pressured to do things for the People’s Republic of China,” Elcock said.
“That Chinese technology, in a lot of places in the world, could be used as a mechanism for intelligence gathering.”
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While Canada hasn’t specifically banned private companies from using Huawei technologies, others around the world have. Here’s who’s done what and where.
Britain: Last week, British phone carrier BT said it was removing Huawei tech from mobile phone networks, but it continued to use it as a supplier of other equipment. The government has not interceded, saying it has procedures to test for malicious equipment.
New Zealand: In November, the government of the Pacific nation blocked a mobile phone company from using Huawei technology.
Australia: In August, Australia banned the company, along with ZTE, another Chinese firm, from working on its 5G network. China retaliated and blocked the website of Australia’s public broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
United States: The U.S. government has taken a series of steps to block the firm from U.S. markets, including banning government purchases of Huawei gear and denying government help to any carrier that uses Huawei equipment. Top carriers Verizon Communications and AT&T pulled out of deals to distribute Huawei smartphones earlier this year. The U.S. has also
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What has Canada done?
Canada is currently reviewing Huawei technology. At a briefing about cyber threats, Scott Jones, head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, said Canada was assessing all threats.
“It’ll be done when we conclude the comprehensive review that takes into account Canada’s unique circumstances,” he said on Thursday.
Elcock says that means officials will check the technology for any vulnerabilities.
“We are doing something not entirely dissimilar from the British, in that the British also established a centre for reviewing equipment in order to mitigate, a mitigation measure to make sure it can’t be trapped or back doored — it can’t be used for intelligence gathering in other words,” he said.
(A back door is where the creator or manufacturer leaves a way for themselves to access the data on the device without going through the proper channels.)
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U.S. lawmakers have urged Canada to ban Huawei technology from private firms. But the company has become increasingly entwined with telecom network development in Canada as a key supplier of parts to Bell, Telus and Rogers.
It’s currently a major sponsor of Hockey Night in Canada.
The charges against Meng aren’t known yet – reports say he was arrested in relation to violating U.S. sanctions on Iran. It’s not certain if the security concerns from her company will play a factor in the charges.
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U.S. senators urge Justin Trudeau to drop China’s Huawei from Canada’s upcoming 5G network
Possible retaliation?
China has called for Canada to release Meng, saying she broke no U.S. or Canadian laws.
The telecommunications giant is a “national champion for China,” Carvin said, saying she was worried about possible retaliation from China. “This is one of the brands that flies the Chinese flag high.”
“It puts Canada in a very difficult position between the United States and China. I suspect the Chinese are going to be very upset about this,” Elcock agreed.
“The Chinese are likely to play tit-for-tat on this one and we should be ready for it,” director of the global security program at the Centre for Governance Innovation Fen Hampson told The Canadian Press.
Jones said Canada has to be prepared for retaliation at all times, not just because of this incident.
Wanzhou Meng, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, is seen in an undated photo.
Huawei Technologies / Twitter
“One of the key things is we always have to be resilient no matter what the trigger might be,” Jones said on Thursday.
Experts say possible retaliation could come in many forms including arresting Canadian businesspeople in China, or attacking Canadian goods in trade policies.
“If I was a canola farmer, I would be very nervous because China has in the past used certain agricultural products as weapons in its trade policies,” Carvin said, adding that Nova Scotia lobsters are also a major import.