Huawei can 'covertly access' mobile phone networks worldwide via secret 'back doors', claim US officials

Huawei denies claims that secret 'back doors have been built-in to Huawei mobile hardware for more than a decade

Huawei mobile networking hardware contains back doors, supposedly for use by law enforcement, which also enables surreptitious access to networks worldwide by Chinese authorities.

Furthermore, such capabilities have been built-in to Huawei's mobile telecoms equipment for more than a decade.

That's according to US national security advisor Robert O'Brien, in a report tonight by the Wall Street Journal.

Evidence, according to the WSJ, was provided last year to the UK and Germany, with officials in both countries briefed in-depth more recently.

Mobile hardware, including switches, base stations and even antennae, are typically required by law to have ways for authorities to access networks for law enforcement purposes. However, the hardware is not supposed to be accessible by the manufacturer without the consent of the mobile operator.

US officials, though, claim that Huawei has retained the ability to surreptitiously access its hardware without the knowledge of network operators.

"We have evidence that Huawei has the capability secretly to access sensitive and personal information in systems it maintains and sells around the world, O'Brien told the WSJ.

Details of the vulnerability haven't been disclosed. Officials also declined to comment on whether they had ever observed these alleged back doors being inappropriately used. But they claim to have been aware of them since 2009 when 4G networks were first being rolled out around the world.

The new US claims will raise questions among MPs in Westminster about the British government's recent decision to allow Huawei to provide hardware for the UK's 5G networks, albeit under circumscribed conditions. The WSJ claims that British officials were briefed in depth about the threat last month, ahead of the government decision.

British officials, though, told the WSJ that the information wasn't new and had been factored into the limited role that Huawei will be allowed to play in the UK's 5G network build-out.

In addition to limiting Huawei to the edge of the network, allowing it to provide no more than 35 per cent of individual networks' base station antenna, it also barred the company from networks near sensitive sites, such as nuclear power stations.

Huawei, meanwhile, "emphatically" rejected the latest accusations levelled against it by the US. "Groundless accusations are being repeated without providing any kind of concrete evidence," the company's statement added.

It continued: "No Huawei employee is allowed to access the network without an explicit approval from the network operator."