CIA Huawei Spying Claims Denounced, US Told To ‘Put Up Or Shut Up’

The CIA’s Huawei spying claims are being denounced by the tech company.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the CIA’s Huawei spying claims began when ex-CIA director Michael Hayden claimed Huawei was spying for China:

“At a minimum, Huawei would have shared with the Chinese state intimate and extensive knowledge of the foreign telecommunications systems it is involved with.”

Michael Hayden now works for Huawei competitor Motorola Solutions. But it’s not just the CIA saying Huawei spied for China. The British government is making the same claim. In response, William Plummer, the Huawei’s vice president of external affairs, is calling the spying claims “discriminatory and defamatory” and says the two governments must provide evidence or “shut up”:

“Huawei meets the communication needs of more than a third of the planet, and our customers have the right to know what these unsubstantiated concerns are. It’s time to put up or shut up,”

Huawei spokesman Scott Sykes claims “these tired, unsubstantiated, defamatory remarks are sad distractions from real-world concerns related to espionage, industrial and otherwise.”

CIA, Huawei, China, Spying?

Why would think CIA say Huawei could help China spy on other nations? Huawei is the world’s second-largest manufacturer of networking and cell equipment. Founder Ren Zhengfei was a retiree from the Chinese military and the company is located in Shenzhen, China. Various internet attacks have been traced back to China and thus there’s some concern the Chinese government may have privileged access.

Due to security concerns, Huawei has been prevented from being involved in any government-funded projects in the United States to create or maintain the broadband fiber network backbones for the internet. A US congressional committee claims Huawei might provide opportunities for Chinese intelligence agencies to spy on the US using Huawei’s telecommunications network.

What do you think about the ex-director of the CIA claiming Huawei could spy for China?