Huawei fails to gain security clearance in the Czech Republic

Prague, Sept 15 (CTK) – Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications company, has not gained security clearance in the Czech Republic from the country’s National Security Office (NBU), and it is considering applying for lower-level clearance, it has told Czech server Denik N.

In 2018, the Czech Cyber and Information Security Agency (NUKIB) issued a warning against the use of Huawei’s software and hardware as products posing a security risk.

According to Denik N, Huawei itself recently asked for the Czech security clearance procedure to be halted because it had developed unfavorably for the company.

“The Huawei company is now considering various scenarios that are based on our commercial needs,” its spokesman Tomas Kolder said.

Huawei originally applied for the secret-level clearance.

Security clearance is a condition for private companies to be admitted to selected tenders within public procurement.

The NBU has not commented on the affair.

Huawei does not need security clearance to cooperate with Czech operators on building 5G mobile networks in the Czech Republic. The company is one of the world’s primary suppliers of this technology.

In April, the Senate, the opposition-dominated upper house of Czech parliament, asked the cabinet to clarify its position on the possible involvement in the installation of 5G networks in the Czech Republic by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE. The Senate cited the NUKIB’s warning.

NUKIB had labelled Huawei and ZTE technologies a security risk posed to the critical IT infrastructure and other significant IT systems. Huawei dismissed this saying there is no evidence to prove such warnings substantiated.

In January, the EC recommended the EU member states not to let suspected risk companies join the building of sensitive parts of the 5G networks. The EC recommendation has left the final decision on individual countries, but called on them to take a unified approach.