From: Financial Review (Australia)

David Ramli

Experts have called on the federal government to ban controversial Chinese company Huawei Technologies from installing its technology and personnel into the Australian Cyber Security Centre.

In late January, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced ACSC would become Australia’s front-line of defence against cyber threats and attacks from around the world.

The centre will open by late 2013 and combine the cyber security resources of several key government agencies including the Defence Signals Directorate, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Computer Emergency Response Team Australia and the Australian Federal Police.

At the time, Huawei Australia chairman John Lord welcomed the centre and said it stood “ready and willing” to work with the government.

This was despite the Labor government banning Huawei from supplying technology to its $37.4 billion national broadband network over security concerns.

“Major global technology companies like Huawei must be part of the solution to cyber threats,” Mr Lord said. “Huawei is already working in partnership with governments and security agencies in this critical area.”

Surete Group managing partner and formerly the AFP’s top cyber agent Alastair MacGibbon said recent hacking attacks against The New York Times and Twitter, allegedly by parties close to the Chinese government, showed the importance of ramping up cyber security defences.

“If they’re asking to be wired into systems then . . . they should probably stop,” he said. “I think most reasonable people would acknowledge the Chinese government is pretty active in gathering information about the Australian governments and businesses.”

“Do you allow tech companies that are intimately engaged with [the Chinese] government into your inner-most secrets? I don’t think you do.”

Chris Gatford, the director of information technology security consultancy HackLabs, said he did not believe Huawei was a front for China’s government.

“But there is a perception that their programming is less secure than that of other providers . . . and there have been flaws in their products,” he said. “This centre [ACSC] would be a trusted place with very serious intelligence being shared to protect critical infrastructure and organisations.

“The fact that there’s someone there that isn’t very trusted by the government wouldn’t make sense at all.”

A spokesman for Huawei said the company was keen to “bolster Australia’s cyber security defences” and be a part of ACSC. He added it was too early to say if the centre could be successful without Huawei because there weren’t enough details from the government.

“Huawei’s security credentials speak for themselves – we’re already working with all major Australian [telecommunications] operators, and 45 of the world’s top 50 operators,” he said. “You don’t get to that level of success unless your partners trust your technology, your expertise, and your company.”