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Borje Erkhlom, Swedish CEO of multinational networking and telecommunications company Ericsson. Photo: AFP

Ericsson chief executive dismisses Huawei challenge to disclose source code, saying it creates ‘false sense of security’

  • Sweden’s Ericsson is competing with China’s Huawei and Finland’s Nokia in supplying the telecoms gear needed for ultra-fast 5G networks
  • Huawei had challenged rivals to subject their equipment to same level of scrutiny and testing as the Chinese firm’s
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Ericsson does not believe in the testing of telecommunications equipment after it is being developed to ensure that the gear is secure, its chief executive said, months after Huawei challenged its rivals to subject themselves to regulatory scrutiny and testing.

“We believe that post-development testing and source code disclosure risks creating a false sense of security [for operators],” Börje Ekholm, chief executive of Stockholm-based Ericsson, said at the VivaTech conference in Paris this week.

“End-to-end 5G security was actually factored-in when 5G was designed,” he said, referring to the superfast, next-generation wireless network that will increase speeds by at least 10 times following commercial roll-outs in 2020.

His comments come after Huawei in March urged its rivals to disclose their source code for checks so as to increase transparency on possible security issues.

Huawei, which competes with Ericsson in selling telecommunications gear, is currently the world’s largest telecommunications equipment company. The US Commerce Department this week banned the Chinese group from buying components from American firms without government permission, a move that threatens to cut off the supply of components to the company.

The UK’s Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre Oversight Board, for example, funded by Huawei but operated by the British government, assesses the risks that occur from Huawei’s involvement in its national telecoms infrastructure and releases a report on its findings annually.

Huawei is the only telecoms gear supplier that subjects itself to this level of scrutiny. Ericsson’s Ekholm argued that such testing will only “delay the introduction of new features”, especially since the company rolls out new features every two weeks.

Furthermore, Ekholm said that the security of networks does not lie solely in the equipment, as operators also have a part to play in ensuring that its networks are safe. Essentially, even equipment tested to be secure also needs to have appropriate cybersecurity protections implemented by operators to ensure networks are not compromised.

“Given the complexity of future architecture and future networks, the security in 5G will not only depend on the equipment in the networks,” Ekholm said. “It will also depend on the security solutions deployed, and the operating parameters of the network - basically decisions the operator will make.”

This is a position that Huawei has reiterated, most recently in an opinion piece by board director Catherine Chen in The New York Times.

“The security of our telecommunications networks is a responsibility shared by operators, equipment vendors and service providers to collectively perform risk mitigation with assurance and transparency,” Chen wrote in the piece.

In his speech in Paris, Ekholm warned that Europe could fall behind in competitiveness if it does not up 5G development, as nations like China and the US already regard the next-generation networks as critical to their economic development.

China has identified 5G in its 13th Five-Year Plan as a “new area of growth”, and Huawei is currently the forerunner in 5G development. Leadership in the technology is expected to yield reap billions in economic benefits and allow the winner to set standards for the rest of the world.

The US has also been vocal about stepping up in the 5G race, with operators like AT&T and Verizon rolling out 5G services in select cities since last year. US President Donald Trump said that by next year, the US will have “more 5G spectrum than any other country in the world”.

Ekholm urged governments in Europe to make 5G spectrum available in a coordinated fashion and at reasonable prices so that operators will invest in 5G and provide the means for innovation on the new networks. The duration of spectrum licences should also be extended to allow operators to benefit from the building of new networks.

“We cannot afford to have European entrepreneurs innovating on an old and ageing infrastructure,” Ekholm said. “I’d rather see Europe lead on exporting technology, than on exporting regulation.”

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