In 2012, intelligence officials reported an intrusion into Australia’s telecommunications systems, which came from a Huawei software update. The update was allegedly loaded with malicious code, according to a Bloomberg News investigation. The alleged hack, which was reported to U.S. officials, was confirmed by nearly “two dozen former national security officials who received briefings about the matter.”
“The update appeared legitimate, but it contained malicious code that worked much like a digital wiretap, reprogramming the infected equipment to record all the communications passing through it before sending the data to China,” Bloomberg reported.
If true, the incident serves as a smoking gun in the effort by the U.S. government to ban telecom equipment made by Huawei from use in the United States and by its allies around the world, as well as outlawing sales of equipment such as chips to the Chinese telecom.
“The incident substantiated suspicions in both countries that China used Huawei equipment as a conduit for espionage, and it has remained a core part of a case they’ve built against the Chinese company, even as the breach’s existence has never been made public, the former officials said,” Bloomberg reported. Chinese officials deny any link with Huawei, and U.S. officials refuse to comment publicly on the matter.
By J. Sharpe Smith Inside Towers Technology Editor
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