Huawei says it 'shares the same cyber security goals' as the UK government

Chinese networking giant Huawei has said that it 'shares the same goal' as the government in raising the standards of cyber security in the UK and that it is 'open to new ideas' in how it should work to improve standards.

The comments come after the government's response to an Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) report, which was published in June and slammed Huawei's near ten year relationship with BT. MPs at the time said that they were shocked that officials had chosen not to inform, let alone consult, Ministers on BT's decision to purchase equipment from Huawei, which could pose a risk to the UK's critical national infrastructure.

However, this week the government largely dismissed MPs' concerns and said that "boosting trade and investment is a key part of the government's plan for growth" and that it is "working hard to develop economic relationships with key trading partners, including China".

One of the only ISC recommendations the government agreed with was that the National Security Adviser should conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the government's Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (the Cell), which was established in 2010 to scale the UK's protection across other communication service providers as Huawei's presence in the UK increased.

This was largely because the Cell is currently run by Huawei, not GCHQ, the government's electronic spying and security centre.

Unsurprisingly, Huawei has welcomed the government's response and said: "Huawei shares the same goal as the UK government and the ISC in raising the standards of cyber security in the UK and ensuring that network technology benefits UK consumers.

"Huawei is open to new ideas and ways of working to improve cyber security".

It has also said that it supports the decision that the National Security Advisor should review the Cell.