Huawei proposes security center in Australia

Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies proposed setting up a cyber-security evaluation center in Australia in an attempt to increase transparency of its products as it comes under scrutiny for potential national security risks, The Guardian reported. The center would give Australia complete access to its software source code and equipment, Huawei Australia chairman John Lord said. “Huawei has done a very poor job of communicating about ourselves and we must take full responsibility for that. Huawei has a duty to set the record straight, to dispel the myths and the misinformation,” Lord said. The company set up a similar center in the UK, where it allows security-cleared staff to test its hardware and software to ensure it can withstand cyber-security threats. Huawei was blocked from Australia’s US$38 billion National Broadbank Network program in March, and a US congressional committee said it posed a national security threat in October.