[Brussels, Belgium, 07 February 2013] Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, has welcomed EU proposals tabled today to step up cyber security across Europe. The strategy outlined by the European Commission dovetails with Huawei’s approach to cyber security which puts a major focus on international cooperation.

Cyber security is a common challenge that all societies must confront together. While open networks and global data exchange involve new opportunities and growth potential, they also pose a significant security challenge. As the ICT industry shares a global supply chain, the diversity of vendors from different regions makes it difficult to trace the source of cyber security threats. The Union therefore seeks to strengthen its coordination role to take action beyond national borders. Engaging with international partners will play a key role in this context.

“We warmly welcome this EU initiative,” says Leo Sun, President of Huawei’s European Public Affairs and Communications Office. “Cyber threats do not stop at national borders, and neither can efforts to protect our networks and systems. At Huawei, we believe an international approach in which all stakeholders take their fair share of responsibility is a prerequisite to tackling this global challenge.”

“The strategy comes at a crucial moment, providing the public and the private sector with the tools they need to move beyond debating the problem and take concrete steps to tackle security issues,” commented Huawei’s Global Security Officer, John Suffolk. “The time has come to stop talking about the threat, stop talking about the challenges and start talking about the actions we have taken and will take.”

Huawei calls on governments, the industry and users worldwide to join forces to create a safe, open and transparent cyber environment in Europe and elsewhere. It outlined its vision for a secure cyber space in its White Paper on cyber security, released in September 2012. In addition to international cooperation, the White Paper highlights the key role of public-private partnerships and transparency in a more secure future. Authored by John Suffolk, the paper stresses the global nature of cyber threats and calls for risk-based approaches, the sharing of best practices and international cooperation to address them.

The Commission’s proposals released today fit into this vision. Huawei backs the EU’s appeal to public authorities, to the private sector and to individual citizens to recognise their shared responsibility in detecting and tackling ICT vulnerabilities.

Trust among stakeholders and an understanding of the global supply chain play an important role in addressing cyber security issues. While international cooperation alone cannot achieve this objective, Huawei believes it forms an important prerequisite in this context. Considering that cyber space is not confined to national borders, the result of action by a single government would be limited. Huawei therefore welcomes the multilateral approach of the EU’s cyber security strategy as an effective and efficient way of increasing Europe’s capabilities.

Committed to becoming a part of this process, Huawei is eager to work with public authorities, industry and users throughout Europe to share industry insights and expertise gained from its experience in delivering secure and reliable communication solutions in over 140 countries worldwide. As part of this commitment, Huawei is an active contributor to global security standards. It is a member of industry standards organisations including 3GPP, ETSI, IETF and IEEE.

Huawei has taken many concrete steps to ensure that its operations are secure and to help build reliable networks for Europe. It has put in place an auditable end-to-end global cyber security assurance system, thereby integrating security requirements into all its business processes. At European level, it has taken all necessary steps to comply with EU laws and regulations. In the UK, it established a Cyber Security Evaluation Centre in 2010 which allows both hardware and software solutions to be tested.

These actions will make an important contribution to enhancing European industrial and technological resources for cyber security. This target forms part of the key objectives outlined by the EU in its strategy. Huawei’s actions can also contribute to achieving greater cyber resilience in the EU, which is another key objective of the strategy.

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Huawei is a leading global ICT solutions provider. Through our dedication to customer-centric innovation and strong partnerships, we have established end-to-end capabilities and strengths across the carrier network, enterprise, consumer and cloud computing fields. We are committed to creating maximum value for telecom carriers, enterprises and consumers by providing competitive ICT solutions and services. Our products and solutions have been deployed in over 140 countries, serving more than one third of the world's population.

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