Deutsche Bahn bets on Huawei for rail digitization despite security concerns | – #Deutsche #Bahn #bets #Huawei #rail #digitization #security #concerns
BERLIN, 10 March (Reuters) – Germany’s railway digitizing its operations way operator Deutsche Bahn last December paid 64 million euros ($67.79 million) to a company using Chinese technology to provide most of the components for its new IP network. dollars) signed a contract. Huawei.
IP network to state-owned DB (DBN.UL) Europe’s largest iron way will form the basis of a new digital infrastructure that will allow remote management of all operations in one of its networks.
The previously undisclosed deal comes amid growing security concerns at home and allied USAIt shows how German firms continue to use Huawei ( HWT.UL ) technology despite warnings about its use. Chinese technology.
It also exposes gaps in legislation protecting critical digital infrastructure more than a year after Russia’s aggression in Ukraine prompted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to declare a “Zeitenwende” or “turn of the era” toward a greater focus on security. This was reported to Reuters by the coalition.
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Under existing IT security legislation, network components do not have to be managed by Germany’s cybersecurity office, BSI, unlike public telecommunications network operators, a WB spokesman told Reuters. A BSI spokesman said he was not aware of any legislation defining DB IT systems as “critical components”.
None at the moment Europe against the use of Huawei technology in private corporate networks in his country law Although there is no Sweden and Britain against its use in 5G telecommunications networks law accepted and other countries urged the operators to refrain from it.
Germany said this week it is fully reviewing the components deployed by telecoms firms, a sign it may take a more ambitious stance.
“If it’s true that the company is betting more on Huawei technology, it raises some serious questions,” he said. of parliament said Konstantin von Notz, chairman of the committee that oversees the intelligence services.
The lawmaker from the Greens’ junior coalition partner said this government depends on “correcting as soon as possible the years of ignorance and major shortcomings in security policy”.
Huawei’s critics say its close ties to China’s security services could give Chinese spies and even subversives access to critical infrastructure areas using its technology.
There is no clear evidence that Huawei and the Chinese government can actually breach the networks, and both deny claims of a security risk. A Huawei spokesperson said the firm would never harm any nation or individual. Operators say it offers high-quality components at lower prices than competitors.
“Digital infrastructure is becoming an important battleground in the quest for dominance,” said Paolo Pescatore, industry analyst at PP Foresight.
The December contract with Deutsche Telekom Business Solutions, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, is for Huawei technology such as switches and routers. Cybersecurity experts say these apps need to be updated regularly remotely and contain software that allows for potentially harmful updates.
The WB auctioned just two months after the attack, which brought all train traffic to a standstill in northern Germany for several hours and raised awareness of vulnerabilities in Germany’s critical infrastructure.
Several lawmakers told Reuters they suspected a state actor given the complexity of the attack. Investigators have yet to come to a final conclusion.
Expanding Digital Infrastructure Regulation
Debate over Huawei’s role in Germany has heated up in recent months as the coalition government prepares a new China strategy document, the smaller Greens and Free The Democrats (FDP) are Scholz’s coalition partnersSocial They show a tougher position than the Democratic Party (SPD). ).
Germany, which saw itself as China’s top trading partner under former conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, passed tougher rules for telecoms equipment makers for 5G in 2021.
Critics say the law, which went beyond banning Huawei, lacked teeth and did not require inspections of critical components for digital infrastructure in other sectors.
FDP parliament Manuel Hoeferlin, the group’s internal affairs spokesman, said, “It’s the state’s responsibility to clarify the rules, it’s not up to companies to willingly opt out of certain providers.”
According to excerpts from a report shared with Reuters, Germany has actually become more dependent on Huawei for 5G radio access network (RAN) equipment than for its 4G network.
The government admitted last month that it actually had “no accurate data on the percentage of components from Chinese and other manufacturers in German mobile and landline networks”, but said 40% of the components in one of the WB’s radio networks were from Huawei. .
A government source said some operators had already installed critical Huawei components without waiting for the BSI green light and found they might need to be replaced.
Separately, a spokesman for the Home Office told Reuters that the existing IT security legislation to cover more infrastructure and strengthening cyber security law he said he plans to work on it.
SPD parliament “We have a good legal instrument for 5G,” said Nils Schmid, a foreign policy spokesman for the group. way we need to expand to other critical infrastructures like
($1 = 0.9441 euros)
Additional by Andreas Rinke in Berlin and Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm report; Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Edited by Sharon Singleton
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Sarah Marsh
2023-03-10 15:38:48
Source – reuters
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