Huawei offers unrestricted access to software code in light of spying allegations

Earlier this month, Huawei was one of two Chinese manufacturers (the other being ZTE) accused of potentially spying for the Chinese government. The US House Intelligence Committee recommended that the company be avoided. Huawei retorted that the accusations are baseless, and now has offered to provide unrestricted access to its software code to prove its innocence.

Huawei had responded with a statement that the Chinese company "has a well-demonstrated track record of responsibly adhering to local laws and regulations in the markets in which it does business." A little over a week after the accusation was made, a source who claimed to be close to the matter told Reuters that the White House had found no evidence of Huawei engaging in espionage. Now, to further its push in clearing its name, chairman of the Huawei Australia branch, John Lord, has stated that "Huawei is willing to offer complete and unrestricted access to our software source code and our equipment in such an environment."

The environment he refers to is a transparent framework in which foreign vendors can be subjected to security testing procedures. Said Lord, this system would allow tech products made overseas to be evaluated independently, and that such a setup is necessary for safety. The UK already has a similar system in place to which Lord referred when making the proposal.

In addition to the proposed avoidance in the U.S., Huawei was shunned by Canada in light of the accusations, which was previously considering using the company as part of its upcoming government communications network. Adding another blow into the mix, Huawei was also banned from being involved in the construction of Australia's National Broadband Network. Says John Lord, "We are disappointed [in the ban], we have accepted the government's decision and we have moved on."

[via ABC]