Huawei Offers To Sign A ‘No Back Door’ Treaty With The Indian Government To Assuage Potential Security Concerns

Chinese telecom major Huawei Technologies Company Ltd has officially announced that it is willing to sign a “no back door" pact with its customers as well as the Indian government in order to assuage any potential security concerns which may arise.

The statement from Huawei statement has come when the company is in the midst of battling intense pressure from the United States which is pushing its allies to ban the Chinese company from 5G networks based on suspicions of espionage.

A “back door" is a point of access in any network or equipment which guarantees entry into the network or equipment under exceptional circumstances. In its absence, the equipment supplier would not be able to access customers’ network without their consent.

Since last year, the US has incessantly pressed its allies to ban Huawei from 5G roll-outs on the suspicion that the Chinese government used the company as a vehicle for spying, an allegation the company has always denied.

Australia and Japan have barred Huawei, while Canada and New Zealand are likely to follow suit.

By signing a “no back door" pact, the company hopes to assure the Indian government about any cybersecurity breach that could arise at the vendor’s end.

Incidentally, Huawei’s proposal comes just a day before US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to New Delhi. Various issues, including Huawei’s participation in 5G roll-outs are expected to figure in discussions between Pompeo and Indian government officials during his forthcoming visit.

India is yet to take a decision on whether to permit Huawei in 5G roll-outs.

Earlier, India’s telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said the government would take “a firm view" on Huawei’s participation. Recently, telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan had said her ministry was expecting a recommendation from a committee examining Huawei’s participation in the 5G roll out.

India has already approved a one-year 5G trial period for entities seeking experimental spectrum to conduct trials. However, it has not stated explicitly whether it will allow Huawei to participate in the trials since DoT still awaits a recommendation from the committee examining security risks arising out of Huawei’s presence in 5G networks.