At gathering of spy chiefs, US, allies agreed to contain Huawei

Spy chiefs from the West’s most powerful intelligence alliance agreed in a July meeting in Canada they needed to contain Huawei Technologies Co., according to people familiar with the matter, punctuating years of worry about the Chinese maker of telecommunications equipment.

Soon afterward, in an unprecedented campaign, some of the chiefs began to speak out publicly about the risks associated with Chinese-made gear, especially to next-generation 5G mobile networks now starting to be rolled out world-wide.

The meeting in Canada drew together spy chiefs from the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing network, made up of English-speaking allies Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US Central Intelligence Agency Director Gina Haspel attended.

Discussions touched on concerns about China’s cyber espionage capabilities and growing military expansion. One focus was how to protect telecommunications networks from outside interference.

Source: The Wall Street Journal