Microsoft, Huawei Join in Cybersecurity Message
September 13 2016 - 10:20AM
Dow Jones News
Microsoft Corp. and Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies
Co. are feeling the heat from each other's government.
Chinese antitrust regulators are investigating Microsoft, and
Huawei has been shut out of the U.S. telecommunications-equipment
market over concerns it might be a front for cyberspying.
None of that is good for business. And now the two have joined
forces in a "buyers guide," meant to allay fears that each new
information-technology contract poses a cybersecurity threat. Aimed
at governments and corporations shopping for information- and
communications-technology products and services, it was produced in
cooperation with the nonprofit EastWest Institute.
Rather than reviews and rankings, this buyers guide offers a
discussion of security issues in technology development,
manufacturing, distribution and supply-chain management. It is part
of a broader effort to shift the global cybersecurity debate away
from what trade groups describe as protectionist initiatives
triggered by political tensions between governments.
It offers "five principles," the first being, "Maintain an open
market that fosters innovation and competition and creates a level
playing field for ICT providers."
"This is an attempt to create objective criteria for buying
technology products and services," said Bruce McConnell, vice
president of the EastWest Institute, which is based in New
York.
Microsoft and Huawei are the two principal supporters of the
EastWest working group that compiled the guide. Microsoft was
represented by Angela McKay, its cybersecurity policy and strategy
director; Huawei, by Andy Purdy, chief security officer of Huawei's
U.S. unit.
"If we simply think about the countries of origin (of technology
vendors), we are not going to protect ourselves adequately," Mr.
Purdy said in an interview.
Microsoft representatives declined to comment.
While the companies are trying to separate cybersecurity issues
from national politics, both the U.S. and China can point to
episodes that suggest cyberspying is a genuine threat.
China has intensified efforts to reduce its industries'
dependence on U.S. technology vendors since Edward Snowden revealed
in 2013 that Washington uses U.S. tech products for espionage. It
is drafting cybersecurity regulations that would require equipment
used by the government and state-owned enterprises be "secure and
controllable."
U.S. trade groups contend that Beijing is using cybersecurity as
an pretext to favor domestic companies.
But the U.S. government has also played the cybersecurity card.
A 2012 congressional report suggested that Huawei's telecom
networking gear could be used by the Chinese government to spy on
Americans. Huawei, a Shenzhen-based company founded in 1987 by a
former Chinese army engineer, has denied the allegations.
Huawei, one of the world's largest makers of telecom equipment
and smartphones, has been trying to emphasize its role in the tech
industry's efforts to increase the security of wireless networks
and other products. Over the past few years, it has published
cybersecurity white papers to communicate its views on the
challenges and how to address them.
"Businesses on both sides are frustrated by continued friction
between the U.S. and China," said Duncan Clark, chairman of
Beijing-based consulting firm BDA China, who has worked with many
Chinese companies including Huawei.
There are, however, some signs of changes in the debate.
Earlier this year, a Chinese government committee that is
defining cybersecurity standards allowed Microsoft, Intel Corp.,
Cisco Systems Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. to
take part in drafting rules rather than just participating as
observers, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.
EastWest's Mr. McConnell said the buyers guide doesn't aim to
eliminate national-security concerns. The question, he said, is how
much of the protectionism is based on security considerations and
how much on the desire to promote homegrown companies.
"This is the first step," he said. "You can at least advance a
conversation."
Eva Dou and Jay Greene contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 13, 2016 10:05 ET (14:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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