Don’t Use Huawei Phones, say Heads of FBI, CIA, & NSA

Should Nigerians Be Wary of Huawei?

Security is a concern in this West African country especially with ubiquitous use of mobile technology devices if loose ends are not tied.

The recent warning from America has however brought to the fore the question on safety and security especially in Nigeria and other African countries .

You would recall that Huawei is one of the Original Equipment Manufacturers with competitive market share in Nigeria because of its unique features that fit socio-economic needs of smartphones users in the country.

But then, the concern which was recently raised by heads of six major US intelligence agencies FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and the director of national intelligence in America have signaled a message that poses concern for users of the tech giant smartphones.

The security agencies recently warned American citizens not to use products and services made by Chinese tech giants Huawei and ZTE.

According to a report from CNBC, the intelligence chiefs made the recommendation during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday. The group included the heads of the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and the director of national intelligence.

During his testimony, FBI Director Chris Wray said the government was “deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that don’t share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks.”

He added that this would provide “the capacity to maliciously modify or steal information. And it provides the capacity to conduct undetected espionage.”

These warnings are nothing new. The US intelligence community has long been wary of Huawei, which was founded by a former engineer in China’s People’s Liberation Army and has been described by US politicians as “effectively an arm of the Chinese government.” This caution led to a ban on Huawei bidding for US government contracts in 2014, and it’s now causing problems for the company’s push into consumer electronics.

Although Huawei started life as a telecoms firm, creating hardware for communications infrastructure, the company’s smartphones have proved incredibly successful in recent years. Last September, it even surpassed Apple as the world’s second biggest smartphone maker, behind Samsung.

But the company has never been able to make inroads in the lucrative American market, a failure which is in part due to hostility from the US government. Last month, Huawei planned to launch its new Mate 10 Pro flagship in the US through AT&T, but the carrier pulled out of the deal at the last minute, reportedly due to political pressure. The decision prompted Huawei’s CEO Richard Yu to go off-script during a speech at CES, describing the move as a “big loss” for the company, but a bigger loss for consumers.

Huawei is still trying to sell the Mate 10 Pro unlocked in the US, but this effort seems to have pushed the company to desperate measures — including getting users to write fake reviews for the handset.

US lawmakers are currently considering a bill that would ban government employees from using Huawei and ZTE phones altogether. During Tuesday’s hearing, Republican Senator Richard Burr, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: “The focus of my concern today is China, and specifically Chinese telecoms like Huawei and ZTE, that are widely understood to have extraordinary ties to the Chinese government.”

in a recent report Managing Director Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited, Mr. Frank Li, told Nigerian Government that with its advance tech solution it can solve the challenge of poor electric power supply and nationwide distribution..

According to Frank Li, Huawei remains dedicated to bridging the digital divide and promoting broadband penetration in Nigeria and said, so far millions of people have been able to make their first phone call and enjoy affordable communications service but emphasized that more investment is need to increase internet speed in the country.

Li who shared the insight that Nigeria’s crude oil has the highest quality globally was under-pressure to digitize its economy and to achieve this said the country must have a good plan for its development with technology.

From this submission there are interest and indication that Huawei is eyeing Nigeria as a business partner and driver of the nation’s economy with its technology solution,,, but then the questionable character of the tech giant as pointed out by the American, should it be such that Nigeria should not be wary of?

However, in response to the comments from the American security officials a spokesperson for Huawei told CNBC that; ”Huawei is aware of a range of U.S. government activities seemingly aimed at inhibiting Huawei’s business in the U.S. market. Huawei is trusted by governments and customers in 170 countries worldwide and poses no greater cybersecurity risk than any ICT vendor, sharing as we do common global supply chains and production capabilities.”

ZTE also issued a statement on the comments, saying: “As a publicly traded company, we are committed to adhering to all applicable laws and regulations of the United States, work with carriers to pass strict testing protocols, and adhere to the highest business standards. ZTE takes cybersecurity and privacy seriously and remains a trusted partner to our US suppliers, US customers and the people who use our products.”