Share

Huawei CEO not surprised by US spying reports

London - The founder of China's Huawei Technologies, said media reports that the US National Security Agency (NSA) was spying on his company came as no surprise, and they would not damage its reputation among its customers.

The New York Times and Der Spiegel reported in March that documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden said the US agency accessed servers at the company's Shenzhen headquarters to obtain sensitive data and monitor executives' communications.

"This monitoring behaviour of the United States is within expectations," Huawei's founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei told reporters in a rare meeting with the press in London on Friday. "It has just been proved."

He added it was not just people in the United States who would be interested in the activities of the world's second-largest telecoms equipment maker and third-biggest smartphone manufacturer.

But Ren said the reports would not damage the firm's reputation with its major telecoms customers in Europe and Asia in terms of the security of its products.

"The business we are doing with our customers is built on a mutual understanding between our customers and ourselves over the last two to three decades, therefore those things going on will not, I believe, have any impact on doing business with us," he said.

"It is not necessary to believe this has a heavy burden and I believe it will pass some day."

The surveillance reports came as an embarrassment for the United States because lawmakers in the country have often voiced security concerns about Huawei's networks, effectively shutting the Chinese company out of the US telecom gear market.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.96
-0.1%
Rand - Pound
24.13
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.62
-0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.41
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.3%
Platinum
912.00
-1.2%
Palladium
1,021.38
-4.2%
Gold
2,161.16
+0.0%
Silver
25.12
+0.3%
Brent Crude
86.89
+1.8%
Top 40
66,252
0.0%
All Share
72,430
0.0%
Resource 10
53,317
0.0%
Industrial 25
100,473
0.0%
Financial 15
16,622
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders