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Down Under | |
Spy fears as Chinese firm eyes Broadband deal | |
2010-10-17 | |
SECURITY experts are alarmed that a company with links to the Chinese military is bidding to supply equipment to the national broadband network (NBN), warning that the equipment could be used to spy or launch cyber attacks on Australian governments and businesses. The United States' National Security Agency intervened to block Huawei Technologies' bids to supply equipment to AT&T last year, threatening to withdraw government business if Huawei was chosen, The Washington Post reported. The company also has faced opposition from Indian and British intelligence agencies and Australian security experts are voicing similar concerns as Huawei seeks a slice of the $43 billion broadband roll-out. Huawei lost a bid to supply the NBN's ethernet aggregation equipment and the gigabit passive optical network in June. The contract went to Alcatel-Lucent, a French company. Huawei, the world's second-largest telecommunications network provider, is believed to be preparing bids to supply almost all the equipment the NBN needs. Former Victorian minister Theo Theophanous is lobbying Canberra on Huawei's behalf. Huawei emphasises that it is privately owned
Jeremy Mitchell, public affairs director for Huawei Australia, denied the company was linked to the Chinese government. He said Huawei guaranteed that its equipment was safe. Despite intelligence resistance, Huawei has supplied equipment to British Telecom. He said Optus and Telstra already used Huawei's equipment and about 50 per cent of Australians relied on it. A spokeswoman for Communications Minister Senator Stephen Conroy said the government would ensure that ''national security and resilience issues are addressed in the design and operation of the NBN''. | |
Posted by:Pappy |
#1 Nothing to worry about, just ignore those packets being sent off to that .cn domain. |
Posted by: DMFD 2010-10-17 10:44 |