US says it can prove Huawei has backdoor access to mobile-phone networks

US hasn't made evidence public but reportedly shared it with UK and Germany.

US officials say they have evidence that Huawei has backdoor access to mobile-phone networks around the world, according to a Wall Street Journal article published today.

"We have evidence that Huawei has the capability secretly to access sensitive and personal information in systems it maintains and sells around the world," US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien told the Journal.

The United States has long claimed that Huawei can secretly access networks through the networking gear it sells to telcos, but the goverment previously argued that it doesn't need to show any proof. US officials still are not providing such evidence publicly but have begun sharing their intelligence with other countries, the Journal report said.

The Journal wrote:

The US kept the intelligence highly classified until late last year, when American officials provided details to allies including the UK and Germany, according to officials from the three countries. That was a tactical turnabout by the US, which in the past had argued that it didn't need to produce hard evidence of the threat it says Huawei poses to nations' security.

The US has been sharing this evidence at the same time the Trump administration tries to convince allies to get Huawei gear out of their networks.

US officials said they have been aware of Huawei's backdoor access "since observing it in 2009 in early 4G equipment," the Journal wrote. However, the US officials quoted by the Journal "declined to say whether the US has observed Huawei using this access."

Backdoors designed for law enforcement

Telecom-equipment makers who sell products to carriers "are required by law to build into their hardware ways for authorities to access the networks for lawful purposes," but they "are also required to build equipment in such a way that the manufacturer can't get access without the consent of...

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