British Parliament Wakes Up To Huawei

The Westminster Parliament's Science and Technology Committee has urged the Government to plan for other emerging technologies to avoid the row over 5G and Huawei equipment and they have released a report highlighting the UK's dependence on just two 5G vendors, which it claims, poses a risk to national security. 

The proposals are in response to the deployment of 5G in the UK, which saw Chinese firm Huawei ultimately excluded from the process on security grounds, leaving the country reliant on only two equipment vendors while causing a likely delay to the full installation of 5G networks.

While the government did eventually act on expert security advice and banned Huawei’s 5G the legislation took so long that it left the UK with just Ericsson and Nokia as 5G partners. The 5G strategy has come too late and will take years to achieve any success, according to MP Greg Clark, who is the committee's chair.  "A lack of strategic foresight in 5G has seen the UK become dependent on only two vendors for a crucial technology...We must learn from this experience to avoid making our economy and security vulnerable from a lack of acceptable alternatives in emerging technologies."Clark said. 

Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum Computing are examples of emerging technologies that, like 5G, can be potential threats to personal and national security.

Greg Clark called for a clear, proactive strategy to avoid a similar situation to the Huawei saga, criticising the UK government's 5G diversification strategy. "The government needs to take an activist approach to encourage research and development, and must now co-operate internationally to build common regulatory approaches with like-minded nations." he said.

The Parliamentary Committee's main concern is that these technologies develop at a faster rate than anything seen before, that time was  being lost and that the government needs to lay out a  formal strategy to avoid a future  dependence on a small number of  technology vendors, let alone one. 

A Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport spokeswoman said: “The security and resilience of 5G and other emerging technologies is a top priority and our £250 million strategy to tackle this global issue head-on is the first of its kind in the world
.. We are working at pace with international and industry partners on solutions and establishing a National Telecommunications Lab to open up new economic opportunities in mobile technology.”

UK Parliament:     ITPro:        Belfast Telegraph:      BBC:       News&Star:     Image: Unsplash

You Might Also Read:

5G Will Disrupt Cyber Security:

Google Blocks Huawei From Android:

« Get Your Cyber Security Plan In Place Now
3D Secure Authentication: What Is it, And Why Do I Need It? »

ManageEngine
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Check Point

Directory of Suppliers

BackupVault

BackupVault

BackupVault is a leading provider of automatic cloud backup and critical data protection against ransomware, insider attacks and hackers for businesses and organisations worldwide.

XYPRO Technology

XYPRO Technology

XYPRO is the market leader in HPE Non-Stop Security, Risk Management and Compliance.

DigitalStakeout

DigitalStakeout

DigitalStakeout enables cyber security professionals to reduce cyber risk to their organization with proactive security solutions, providing immediate improvement in security posture and ROI.

The PC Support Group

The PC Support Group

A partnership with The PC Support Group delivers improved productivity, reduced costs and protects your business through exceptional IT, telecoms and cybersecurity services.

Jooble

Jooble

Jooble is a job search aggregator operating in 71 countries worldwide. We simplify the job search process by displaying active job ads from major job boards and career sites across the internet.

ZDL Group

ZDL Group

At ZDL (formerly ZeroDayLab) we take a comprehensive view of our clients cyber security risks and provide quality services to address those risk

HireVergence

HireVergence

HireVergence is a full service IT staffing and recruiting firm with a focus on cyber and information security.

Hogan Lovells

Hogan Lovells

Hogan Lovells is an international business law firm with offices across Europe, Asia and the USA. Practice areas include Privacy & Cybersecurity.

Mitchell Sandham

Mitchell Sandham

Mitchell Sandham is an, independent insurance and financial services brokerage. Business products include Cyber/Privacy Liability insurance.

Ensurity Technologies

Ensurity Technologies

Ensurity is a deep-tech cybersecurity engineering company; designs and manufactures specialized secure hardware, software, and mobile application solutions.

Cybersecurity Innovation Hub

Cybersecurity Innovation Hub

Cybersecurity Innovation Hub is a non-profit network organization focused on cooperation, information sharing, research and implementation of cutting-edge technologies in cybersecurity.

Global Incubator Network Austria (GIN Austria)

Global Incubator Network Austria (GIN Austria)

GIN Austria is the connecting link between Austrian and international startups, investors, incubators and accelerators with a focus on selected hotspots in Asia.

Lewis Brisbois

Lewis Brisbois

Lewis Brisbois offers legal practice in more than 40 specialties, and a multitude of sub-specialties including Data Privacy & Cybersecurity.

Stratum Security

Stratum Security

Stratum Security is an information security consulting company that focuses on providing clear and concise risk guidance to its clients through high quality assessment services.

Palmchip

Palmchip

Palmchip is a Cyber Security, SOC and Software consulting company. We design and develop high performance and secure applications.

General Informatics

General Informatics

General Informatics is a team of technology enthusiasts with one mission: to make our clients even more successful through the best use of technology.

Softwerx

Softwerx

Softwerx is the UK’s leading Microsoft cloud security practice. We’ve been helping forward-thinking companies better secure their businesses for nearly twenty years.

Aceiss

Aceiss

Aceiss empowers access security, providing unprecedented visibility and insights into user access.

Intelligent Technical Solutions (ITS)

Intelligent Technical Solutions (ITS)

We help businesses manage their technology. Intelligent Technical Solutions provide you with the right technical solution, so you can get back to running your business.

Kubus Hitam

Kubus Hitam

Kubus Hitam are a research-based company focused on cyber security. we strongly believe that innovation and safety are the two keywords for the future business market.

QEDIT

QEDIT

QEDIT is leading the standardization of Zero-Knowledge Proofs through the ZKProof.org Workshops, and builds production-grade ZKP systems for blockchain.