Published in Mobiles

Huawei and ZTE banned from US bases

by on03 May 2018


Pentagon issues its orders

The Pentagon is ordering retail outlets on US military bases to stop selling Huawei and ZTE smartphones, citing security risks.

The Pentagon is convinced that Huawei and ZTE devices pose an unacceptable threat to the department's personnel, information and mission.

A Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal: "In light of this information, it was not prudent for the department's exchanges to continue selling them."

Of course, US military members can still buy Huawei and ZTE devices for personal use from other stores, as there's no outright ban on that for now. But the spokesperson elaborated that the Pentagon is considering whether it should send out a military-wide advisory about the devices.

The US Government officials have said that China could order its manufacturers to create backdoors for spying in their devices, although both Huawei and ZTE have denied the possibility. An anonymous source told the WSJ that military leaders are wary that Beijing could use ZTE and Huawei devices to locate soldiers' exact coordinates and track their movements.

It is repeating an old chestnut which has yet to see any actual proof. Huawei phones were cleared by British intelligence after the outfit started working closely with them.  The military connections between Huawei and the Chinese military are historical or based on the fact that the Chinese government paid Huawei $228.2 million for research and development during the past three years.

Huawei pointed out that Huawei's products are sold in 170 countries worldwide and meet the highest standards of security, privacy and engineering in every country we operate globally including the U.S."We remain committed to openness and transparency in everything we do and want to be clear that no government has ever asked us to compromise the security or integrity of any of our networks or devices."

Last modified on 03 May 2018
Rate this item
(0 votes)

Read more about: