Addressing cyber security risks through global standards

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Europe

01:29

The United States is working on banning Huawei products from the U.S. market and barring U.S. companies from doing business with it. CGTN's Tian Wei has spoken to Andy Purdy, the chief security officer of Huawei America about how the company is going to solve the disputes.

Purdy said Huawei was willing to engage in conversations with the U.S. government.

The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday gave a 90-day grace period for certain broadband companies and customers in the U.S., which made Huawei America optimistic about finding the right people within the government to have the right conversation with.

Both Huawei and its business partners have been affected by the so-called "Entity List." Tech stocks in the U.S. have taken a hit since companies began complying with the supply ban on the Chinese telecom giant.

Broadcom and Qualcomm chip-makers dropped by six percent at the start of this week. The pressure also weighed down on semiconductor makers and other tech companies.

Google's recent restrictions on Huawei are also set to affect Huawei smartphone users outside China as they will lose access to Android system updates. Purdy reassured that existing Huawei users could still receive updates from Google, but new customers have to visit the app store to download a software.

02:35

Purdy said Huawei's customers and suppliers had an interest in working out the situation with the U.S. government.

The U.S. government has been talking about the "potential national security threat" without specifically mentioning any evidence.

To dismiss Washington's concerns, the security officer said the whole global community should do a better job. Some of the U.S. executive orders might lead to better criteria to assess real cybersecurity risks and address them in a transparent and effective manner.

Purdy also mentioned President Reagan during the Cold War era, who talked about trust but also a verifiable approach for nuclear weapons. Every company needs to be subject to scrutiny and everybody's products should be independently verified. This is the right way to address real risks, Purdy said.

The U.S. has put pressure on its allies to ban Huawei but received tremendous pushback. Germany and other European countries opposed blocking Huawei. They believe there are effective ways to address real cybersecurity risks.

01:17

Huawei is also in a fierce competition in the 5G race. When asked whether Huawei was looking at some existing standards or developing a standard on a different track, Purdy said Huawei is part of the cyberspace community and would work together to develop a framework of standards.

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