Cracks appear on western alliance as Huawei gets green light from Britain

 The UK Government looks set to undermine US drive to persuade allies for a global 5G banning of Huawei  from the network, after saying it can mitigate and limit Huawei’s 5G risks from using equipment in the high-speed telecoms systems.

The UK National Cyber Security Centre has determined there are ways to limit the risks from using Huawei in future 5G Ultra-fast networks.

The findings comes despite stepping-up US efforts to persuade countries to bar Huawei from their networks on the basis that it could help China conduct espionage or cyber sabotage after it was more information with allies and partners to underscore the risks, but several countries including the UK and Germany have not been fully convinced that a ban is warranted.

British conclusion would inspire European leaders, since the UK has access to highly sensible US intelligence via its membership of the Five Eyes Intelligence sharing network. Other nations would therefore make the argument that if the UK is confident it can mitigate the risks, they too would be “acting in prudent manner” by allowing Chinese providers to supply their 5G networks.

The US however, argues that 5G will be so fast and have so many military applications that the risk of using any Chinese telecoms equipment is too high and Huawei could use malign software updates to facilitate espionage.

However, Australia and New Zealand also Five Eyes members, last year banned telecoms providers from using Huawei gear in 5G networks.

President Donald Trump is considering issuing an executive order that would in effect bar US companies from using Huawei. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, on Saturday, US vice-president Mike Pence said Huawei posed a threat because of a law that requires telecoms companies to share data with the Chinese government.