Security News > 2020 > January > US Presses France for 'Strong Security Measures' Against Huawei
The United States pressed France on Wednesday to take "Strong security measures" against potential breaches from 5G services provided by Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei, saying failure to do so could imperil intelligence exchanges.
The United States did not ask France for a Huawei ban, he said, but for strong protections against potential "Malicious intrusions" from software and firmware updates of any systems provided by the company.
France has said it will not ban Huawei, but the ANSSI regulator will have a strong say in who gets the final authorisation.
"We're not asking for a particular ban, we're saying: 'adopt the right kind of security measures that will protect your public and your longer-term economic interests against companies like Huawei that are under the control of authoritarian governments."
Asked if there was proof that Huawei was stealing data for the Chinese government, deputy assistant attorney general Adam Hickey of the US justice department's National Security Division said: "If you ask me for a smoking gun and you wait for it, you might end up getting shot."