CIA, FBI, and NSA chiefs say they wouldn't use Huawei or ZTE phones

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Top officials from major U.S. intelligence agencies including the CIA, the FBI, and the NSA have suggested people should not use devices made by Chinese manufacturers Huawei or ZTE. The chiefs said they had, “Deep concerns,” over potential security risks claimed to come from using telecoms devices made by companies, “beholden to foreign governments,” during the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing this week.

This is an annual meeting where threats to the U.S. from around the world are discussed, and it covered a wide-range of subjects, including and primarily Russian influence on U.S. politics and North Korea’s nuclear program, right down to drugs entering the U.S. from Mexico. However, cybersecurity and the use of technology in espionage repeatedly permeated talks.

Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, made the opening remarks. He said the United States is under attack from, “Entities using cyber to penetrate virtually every major action that takes place in the United States,” and called cyber threats one of his greatest concerns and top priorities. Coats singled out Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea as posing the greatest threats.

Play by the rules

Senate Intelligence Committee chairman and senator Richard Burr later said, “The focus of my concern today is China, and specifically Chinese telecoms companies like Huawei and ZTE that are widely understood to have extraordinary ties to the Chinese government.” Burr has been a long-time opponent of Huawei and other Chinese telecoms companies in the United States, dating back to at least 2010 when he and other senators advocated blocking Sprint from using Huawei infrastructure in its network.

Burr asked officials to share their thoughts. CNBC reports that six individuals said they would not recommend private citizens use products from Huawei or ZTE. Reuters, however, says when questioned the intelligence officials said they personally would not use a Huawei or ZTE product. In the South China Morning Post, it’s stated Senator Tom Cotton asked officials if they would recommend purchasing a Huawei or ZTE product, and none raised their hand.

Senator Mark Warner identified Huawei and ZTE as, “leading market players globally,” and added: “Most Americans have not heard of all of these companies. But as they enter Western economic markets, we want to ensure they play by the rules. We need to makes sure that this is not a new way for China to gain access to sensitive technology.” Concern over the possible security implications of Chinese smartphones and telecoms equipment is not new, and debate previously raged in 2012.

No risk

In a statement given to CNBC, Huawei said: “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.”

Both Huawei and ZTE sell smartphones and other connected devices in the United States; but neither are widely known. Huawei attempted to change this with the Mate 10 Pro smartphone and a deal with AT&T and Verizon, where the device would be sold through the carriers. However, the AT&T deal fell through before it could be announced, and Verizon is also rumored to have pulled out, each potentially due to political pressure.