The Trump administration is working with Polish officials to take steps toward protecting the security of that country’s telecommunications systems, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The administration is hopeful that Vice President Mike Pence will sign an agreement with Poland focused on 5G network security during a coming visit to Warsaw, according to a senior administration official Friday who said the issue was “at the top” of the list of the trip’s priorities. The agreement would come as U.S. officials pressure other allies to cut ties with Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co. over national-security concerns.
The U.S. and Poland are working to develop a shared approach to 5G network security and aim to protect those networks “from unauthorized access or interference by telecommunications suppliers,” said the official.
Poland has been one of Huawei’s top markets in Central and Eastern Europe. When asked if the agreement would mention Huawei, the official said the Trump administration doesn’t “typically talk about any specific company.”
“What we are after here is to protect from unauthorized access or interference by telecommunications suppliers—some of whom you know well, controlled by adversary nations—the security of our networks now and into the future,” the official said.
U.S. officials have warned that Huawei products could be used to spy on or disrupt telecom networks and have tried to dissuade allies abroad from using its telecom equipment. Huawei officials have denied claims that its products could be used for espionage, the Journal adds.
Trump administration officials have spent months lobbying their foreign counterparts in several countries in an effort to convince them that buying products from the Chinese manufacturer comes with security risks. The campaign has made little headway, though some countries, including Australia, the U.K., Germany, New Zealand and Japan, have agreed to review their telecom-gear supply chain or restricted the sale of Chinese gear.
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