The Wall Street Journal)
U.S. allies from Australia to Japan to the European Union raised new security questions about Huawei Technologies Co. on Friday, putting fresh pressure on the Chinese telecommunications giant.
The head of Australia’s top military cyber defense agency, Mike Burgess, said Chinese companies were blocked from the rollout of 5G mobile-phone capabilities in August because the new technology would underpin not only communications, but also critical infrastructure that could be brought down in a cyberattack. That makes the technology more strategically important than previous innovations, he said.
“If the 5G network of the future isn’t there, there’s a good chance electricity supply might be interrupted, water supply might be interrupted, the financial sector or elements of it might be impacted,” said Mr. Burgess, the head of the Australian Signals Directorate, in a rare television interview. “That’s why it was important to get security right at the start. It was a foundational issue.” Read more