Two Huawei employees have been arrested in Poland for allegedly spying for the Chinese government. Poland’s TVPInfo broke the news earlier today (via Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal) amid increasing tensions between the U.S. and China.
The two employees arrested include a Chinese national and a Polish national, both of whom worked at Huawei in Poland. The Chinese national was a sales director, though the Polish national’s role is unclear. However, the person is said to be a former high-ranking official at Poland’s internal security agency.
Poland’s counterintelligence agency is believed to have searched Huawei’s Poland headquarters, a local Orange branch, and the houses of both suspects. They took “documents and electronic data” from Huawei’s office, said The Wall Street Journal.
The pair are set to remain in custody for at least three months and apparently face up to ten years in prison.
In an emailed statement sent earlier today, a Huawei spokesperson told us: “Huawei is aware of the situation, and we are looking into it. We have no comment for the time being. Huawei complies with all applicable laws and regulations in the countries where it operates, and we require every employee to abide by the laws and regulations in the countries where they are based.”
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro (above) is one of its most powerful smartphones ever.
What’s the background?
Huawei has come under increasing scrutiny from the White House lately. As well as producing smartphones, the Chinese corporation develops mobile network infrastructure used in many countries, which some nations, including the U.S., see as a potential security risk.
There is speculation the U.S. government will soon ban Huawei telecommunications equipment from being used in the nation over security concerns, while it also may call for EU nations to do the same. Australia and New Zealand have already banned the use of Huawei’s telecommunications equipment for their 5G networks.
Meanwhile, Huawei CFO Wanzhou Meng was arrested in Canada at the behest of the U.S. government last December.
Despite the allegations, Huawei has repeatedly denied involvement with the Chinese government on these matters.
from Android Authority http://bit.ly/2FkuolZ
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