US probes Huawei amid concerns over military data

WASHINGTON • The Biden administration is investigating Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei over concerns that United States cell towers fitted with its gear could capture sensitive information from military bases and missile silos that the company could then transmit to China, two people familiar with the matter said.

The authorities are concerned Huawei could obtain sensitive data on military drills and the readiness status of bases and personnel via the equipment, one of the sources said, requesting anonymity because the investigation is confidential and involves national security.

The previously unreported probe was opened by the Commerce Department shortly after President Joe Biden took office early last year, the sources said, following the implementation of rules to flesh out a May 2019 executive order that gave the agency the investigative authority.

The agency subpoenaed Huawei in April last year to learn about the company's policy on sharing data with foreign parties that its equipment could capture from cellphones, including messages and geolocational data, according to the 10-page document seen by Reuters.

The Commerce Department said it could not "confirm or deny ongoing investigations".

It added that "protecting US persons' safety and security against malign information collection is vital to protecting our economy and national security".

Huawei did not respond to a request for comment.

The company has strongly denied US government allegations that it could spy on US customers and poses a national security threat.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to the specific allegations. In an e-mailed statement, it said: "The US government abuses the concept of national security and state power to go all out to suppress Huawei and other Chinese telecommunications companies without providing any solid proof that they constitute a security threat to the US and other countries."

Eight current and former US government officials said the probe reflects lingering national security concerns about the Chinese company, which was already hit with a slew of US restrictions in recent years.

If the Commerce Department determines Huawei poses a national security threat, it could go beyond existing restrictions imposed by the Federal Communications Commission, the US telecoms regulator.

Using broad new powers created by the Trump administration, the agency could ban all US transactions with Huawei, demanding US telecoms carriers that still rely on its gear to quickly remove it, or face fines or other penalties, said a number of lawyers, academics and former officials interviewed by Reuters.

Federal Bureau of Investigation director Christopher Wray warned in a speech in 2020: "If Chinese companies like Huawei are given unfettered access to our telecommunications infrastructure, they could collect any of your information that traverses their devices or networks."

He added: "Worse still: They'd have no choice but to hand it over to the Chinese government, if asked."

Mr Jim Lewis, a technology and cyber security expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think-tank, said: "If you can stick a receiver on a (cellphone) tower, you can collect signals and that means you can get intelligence.

"No intelligence agency would pass up an opportunity like that."

REUTERS