UK Huawei Oversight Board issues annual report

The UK’s Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) Oversight Board issued its sixth annual report. The report noted that the technical competence review conducted by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) found that the capability of the HCSEC has improved in 2019. Ernst & Young conducted the audit of the HCSEC’s ability to operate independently of Huawei Headquarters and concluded there was no major concern. However, the oversight board highlighted that it has continued to identify concerning issues in Huawei’s approach to software development, bringing increased risk to UK operators. Moreover, the oversight board concluded that it can only provide limited assurance that the long-term security risks are managed in the Huawei equipment currently deployed in the UK. It is only limitedly assured that all risks to UK national security from Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s critical infrastructure can be sufficiently mitigated in the long term.