WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) – Biden administration is investigating Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei over concerns that US cell towers equipped with its equipment could capture sensitive information from military bases and silos of missiles that the company could transmit to China, two acquaintances. with the said matter.
Authorities fear Huawei (HWT.UL) may obtain sensitive data on military exercises and the state of readiness of bases and personnel using the equipment, said one of the people, who requested anonymity because the investigation is confidential. and involves national security.
The previously uninformed investigation was opened by the Commerce Department shortly after Joe Biden took office earlier last year, sources said, following the implementation of rules to finalize a May 2019 executive order that went give the agency the investigating authority.
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The agency summoned Huawei in April 2021 to learn about the company’s policy on sharing data with foreign parties that its computers could capture from mobile phones, including messages and geolocation data, according to the 10-page document seen by Reuters.
The Commerce Department said it could not “confirm or deny ongoing investigations.” He added that “protecting the safety and security of American citizens from the collection of malicious information is vital to protecting our economy and national security.”
Huawei did not respond to a request for comment. The company has flatly denied allegations by the U.S. government that it could spy on U.S. customers and poses a threat to national security.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to specific allegations. In an emailed statement, it said, “The U.S. government is abusing the concept of national security and state power to do everything possible to suppress Huawei and other Chinese telecommunications companies without providing any solid evidence that they pose a threat to the security of the United States and other countries. “
Reuters was unable to determine what action the agency could take against Huawei.
Eight current and former U.S. government officials said the investigation reflects persistent national security concerns about the company, which has already been affected by a number of U.S. restrictions in recent years.
For a timeline of US government trade restrictions on Huawei, click https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-CHINA/HUAWEI-TIMELINE/zgvomxwlgvd/
If the Commerce Department determines that Huawei poses a threat to national security, it could go beyond the existing restrictions imposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the U.S. telecommunications regulator.
Using new broad powers created by the Trump administration, the agency could ban all U.S. transactions with Huawei, requiring U.S. telecom operators who still depend on their equipment to withdraw it quickly or face fines or other sanctions, various lawyers, academics and former officials. interviewed by Reuters said.
The FCC declined to comment.
US-CHINA TECHNOLOGICAL WAR
Huawei has long been prosecuted for allegations by the U.S. government that it could spy on U.S. customers, although Washington authorities have made little evidence public. The company denies the allegations.
“If Chinese companies like Huawei have free access to our telecommunications infrastructure, they could collect any of your information that runs through their devices or networks,” FBI Director Christopher Wray warned in a speech in 2020. ” Worse, they would have no choice but to hand it over to the Chinese government, if asked. “
Reuters was unable to determine whether Huawei’s team is able to collect such sensitive information and provide it to China.
“If you can hook up a receiver to a (cell phone) tower, you can pick up signals and that means you can get intelligence. No intelligence agency would pass up an opportunity like this,” said Jim Lewis, an expert on technology and cybersecurity from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington DC-based think tank.
One move to address the perceived threat was a 2019 law and related rules that prohibit U.S. companies from using federal subsidies to buy telecommunications equipment from Huawei. He also instructed the FCC to force U.S. operators receiving federal subsidies to purge their Huawei equipment networks in exchange for a refund.
But the so-called “tear and replace” deadline to completely remove and destroy the Huawei computer won’t start until mid-2023 at the earliest, with additional opportunities for companies to look for extensions. And refunds will only reach 40% of the total requested so far.
TOWERS NEAR MISSILE SILOS
According to two sources and an FCC commissioner, Huawei-equipped cell towers near sensitive military and intelligence sites have become a particular concern for U.S. authorities. .
Brendan Carr, one of the five FCC commissioners, said the cell phone towers around Montana’s Malmstrom air base, one of three that monitor missile fields in the United States, were powered by Huawei technology.
In an interview this week, he told Reuters that there was a risk that data from smartphones obtained by Huawei could reveal troop movements near the sites: “There is a very real concern that a part of this technology could be used as an early warning system if there was a way to be, God forbid, an ICBM missile attack. “
Reuters was unable to determine the exact location or range of Huawei equipment operating near the military facility. People interviewed by Reuters pointed to at least two other likely cases in Nebraska and Wyoming.
Crystal Rhoades, commissioner of the Nebraska telecommunications regulator, has denounced to the media the risk posed by the proximity of Viaero-owned cell towers to intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos in the western part of the state .
ICBMs carry nuclear warheads to targets thousands of miles away and store them in underground silos near military bases. Nebraska’s cell towers are located near a missile field monitored by FE Warren Air Force Base in neighboring Wyoming.
Viaero offers mobile phone and wireless broadband services to about 110,000 customers in the region. He said in a 2018 presentation to the FCC opposing the commission’s efforts to curb Huawei’s expansion that approximately 80% of its equipment was manufactured by the Chinese company.
This equipment could allow Huawei to obtain sensitive information about the sites, Rhoades told Reuters in June.
“An enemy state could see when things are online, when things are offline, the level of security, how many people are on duty in a given building where there are really dangerous and sophisticated weapons,” Rhoades said.
Rhoades said in July that he had not been updated on Viaero’s rip and replacement efforts in more than two years, although in recent weeks he had asked the company for updated information.
At the time of the last contact, the company said it would not begin removal efforts until the FCC money was available.
The FCC on Monday informed companies what part of their funding applications they can reimburse.
Viaero did not respond to several requests for comment. Huawei also declined to comment.
In Wyoming, then-general manager of rural Union Wireless, John Woody, said in a 2018 interview with Reuters that the company’s coverage area included ICBM silos near the FE Air Force base. Warren and that his team included switches, routers, and Huawei cell sites.
Last month, Eric Woody, John’s son and acting CEO, said that “virtually all Huawei equipment purchased by the Union remains in our network.” He declined to say whether the towers near sensitive military sites contain Huawei equipment.
Air Force base FE Warren forwarded the comment about the Huawei team to the Pentagon. The U.S. Strategic Command, responsible for nuclear operations, said in a statement to Reuters, “We maintain a constant awareness of activities near our facilities and sites.” He noted that “any concerns are at the government-wide level,” but declined to provide further details on what those concerns are.
NEW POWERS AGAINST FOREIGN OPPONENTS
Rick Sofield, a former DOJ official in the national security division who reviewed telecommunications transactions, said the Commerce Department investigation could give an additional bite to FCC crackdown, but there was nothing to new when it comes to targeting Huawei.
“The U.S. government’s concerns about Huawei are widely known, so any information or communications technology company that continues to use Huawei products is taking the risk that the U.S. government will touch.” said Sofield, which represents U.S. and foreign companies facing U.S. national security reviews. . He said it has not worked for Huawei.
The Commerce Department is using the authority granted in 2019 that allows it to ban or restrict transactions between U.S. companies and Internet, telecommunications and technology companies of “foreign adversary” nations, including Russia and China, according to the executive order and related rules.
Two sources familiar with Huawei’s investigation and a former government official said Huawei was one of the first Biden administration cases to use the new powers, which the Justice Department referred to Commerce in early 2021. .
The Justice Department forwarded Reuters ’requests for comments to Commerce.
The subpoena is dated April 13, 2021, the same day that Commerce announced that a document request had been sent to an unnamed Chinese company under the new powers.
It gives Huawei 30 days to provide a seven-year value of “records that identify Huawei’s business transactions and relationships with foreign entities located outside the United States, including foreign agencies or government parties, that have access to, or share in, any capacity, U.S. user data collected by Huawei “.
Noting that “the goal of this research is the supply of mobile network and telecommunications equipment … by Huawei in the United States,” he also asks Huawei for a complete catalog of “all kinds of equipment sold “to” any …