The United States has already banned network equipment made by Huawei on government networks. It also doesn’t allow retail stores on military bases to sell Huawei smartphones. Despite Huawei’s denials, it maintains that the Chinese company’s equipment can allow the country to snoop on U.S. targets. According to a new report, the government is also persuading its allies to stop using Huawei equipment.
The Wall Street Journal hears from sources who claim that U.S. government officials have met with their counterparts in Italy, Germany, and Japan. They’re apparently considering offering financial incentives to allies who decide to stop using network equipment from Huawei.
This is apparently being done amid concerns that U.S. military bases overseas could be vulnerable to hacking if their internet traffic moves over commercial networks in countries where Huawei hardware is being used.
Huawei continues to maintain that it operates independent of the country’s government and that its products don’t have backdoors that allow China’s security agencies to snoop on targets. Huawei expressed its surprise in response to the report about the U.S. influencing its allies and said that it’s concerned about this. “If a government’s behavior extends beyond its jurisdiction,” Huawei said, “such activity should not be encouraged.”