House Republicans pull up FCC, DoD for failure to remove Huawei infrastructure from American networks

House Republicans pull up FCC, DoD for failure to remove Huawei infrastructure from American networks

U.S. House Republicans are raising concerns that Huawei infrastructure continues to exist across the nation’s cellular network despite its threat to national security. As a result, the lawmakers have requested a briefing by Oct. 25 from the Department of Defense (DoD) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on what efforts are underway to remove Huawei infrastructure from the nation’s cellular network.

House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, and Subcommittee on National Security Ranking Member Glenn Grothman, a Republican from Wisconsin, have written to DoD Secretary Lloyd Austin and FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on the failure by the two agencies to remove Huawei infrastructure from American networks. 

“Committee Republicans are concerned about corporate espionage, theft of military intelligence, and the capabilities of cellular telecommunications to be intercepted and monitored by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” the lawmakers said in a media statement this week. “According to reports, Huawei telecommunications equipment is capable of intercepting not only commercial cell traffic but also data transmitted on restricted airwaves used by the military. The ability for Huawei to monitor—and possibly interrupt—U.S. military networks is a significant national security threat.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently determined that Huawei equipment installed atop cell towers—in one instance only a third of a mile from an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silo in Montana—is ‘capable of capturing and disrupting highly restricted Defense Department communications, including those used by U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the country’s nuclear weapons,’ the lawmakers wrote. “In 2020, Congress enacted a program to remove and replace Chinese-made cellular equipment throughout the United States. Committee Republicans are concerned that the Huawei equipment has yet to be removed and, therefore, continues to pose a threat to U.S. national security,” they wrote. 

In their letter to the DoD, Comer and Grothman wrote that Committee Republicans are concerned that Huawei cellular equipment near military installations could seriously threaten the Department network and operational security. 

The letter also pointed out that Huawei was originally ‘blacklisted’ by President Trump on May 15, 2019, and again on June 3, 2021, by President Biden. “The orders—that placed Huawei on the Entity List—block any ownership or dealings with Huawei due to ‘its involvement in military, intelligence, and security research and development programs, and weapons and related equipment production under the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China’s] Military-Civil Fusion Strategy,’” the lawmakers wrote.

“Numerous agencies, including the Department, the FBI, and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), have raised significant concerns over the capabilities and malicious nature of Huawei technology,” the lawmakers wrote. “The FCC plans to ban all purchases of future Huawei telecommunications devices because of its capabilities to threaten American data privacy—but Huawei telecommunications equipment remains operational across the United States.”

The lawmakers also pointed out that on March 12, 2020, the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 was signed into law. “This bill established a program to ‘supply small communications providers with funds to offset the cost of removing prohibited equipment and services from their networks and replacing it with more secure communications equipment.’ Congress appropriated $1.895 billion to carry out the reimbursement program. Yet, as of today, none of the Huawei equipment has been removed.” they added.

Committee Republicans are concerned about corporate espionage, theft of military intelligence, and the capabilities of cellular telecommunications to be intercepted and monitored by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Republican lawmakers said. 

Pointing out that U.S. civilian and military networks must be protected to ensure that the military maintains operational security, the lawmakers wrote that it is troubling that Huawei equipment has not been removed from U.S. networks. The inaction raises questions about whether it may have access to Department networks and provide the CCP with a significant informational advantage. 

“Until Huawei cellular equipment is fully removed from the United States, this threat will persist,” the lawmakers said. “We, therefore, request a classified briefing on Department cyber security as soon as possible but no later than October 25, 2022.”

In their letter to the FCC, the lawmakers included similar issues as the DoD letter. “We are concerned that the Commission has made little to no progress on removing Huawei cellular equipment. We, therefore, request a briefing on the Commission’s plan of action to facilitate the removal of Huawei telecommunications equipment as soon as possible but no later than October 25, 2022,” they added.

In May, the Canadian government said it intends to prohibit telecommunications service providers from deploying Huawei and ZTE products and services in their 5G networks. The Canadian government also has serious concerns about suppliers such as Huawei and ZTE, who could be compelled to comply with extrajudicial directions from foreign governments in ways that would conflict with Canadian laws or would be detrimental to Canadian interests.

The letter from the House Republicans concerning Huawei infrastructure comes around the same time as the numerous cybersecurity measures released by the U.S. administration to secure cyberspace and strengthen the nation’s critical infrastructure.

Anne Neuberger, deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging threats, confirmed last week that the communications, water, and healthcare sectors are looking at new cybersecurity standards. Neuberger said that the communications sector might be the next critical infrastructure sector looking at new standards, as “the FCC issuing a public notice regarding a rulemaking for emergency and public warning systems.”

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