Chinese company Huawei likely blocked from 5G network, with intelligence community voicing security concerns

By political editor Andrew Probyn, Matthew Doran and Stephen Dziedzic

Nagging national security concerns will likely see Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei blocked from taking part in the 5G mobile network.

Key points:

• Intelligence sources say Huawei is considered a cyber espionage risk to infrastructure like 5G
• Government says blocking the company would be a "big deal", but Huawei says negotiations are ongoing
• Labor backbencher Michael Danby rejects Huawei's assertion it is independent, and wants it blocked from 5G discussions

Multiple sources in the intelligence community have told the ABC that Huawei is considered a cyber espionage risk to critical infrastructure.

Huawei, which argues it is independent from the Chinese Communist Government, was banned in 2012 from the National Broadband Network and lost a contract to build a communications cable between the Solomon Islands and Sydney after an intervention by spy chief Nick Warner last year.

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Huawei boss John Lord defends telco as foreign interference debated in Parliament

By defence reporter Andrew Greene and political reporter Matthew Doran

The local boss of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei has vowed to do his best to protect data gathered in Australia from access by Beijing.

Huawei chairman John Lord fronted the National Press Club today to launch a spirited defence of his company's security credentials, as it pushes to be allowed to participate in Australian projects while Federal Parliament continues its debate on foreign interference legislation.

Federal politicians and intelligence agencies have raised concerns about Huawei's technology giving China a backdoor into Australia's telecommunications infrastructure, and are urging the Government to block the company from having any role in the development of the 5G mobile network.

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