Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has hit back at the US and UK governments over allegations of corporate espionage by issuing them with an ultimatum to ‘put up or shut up’.
Michael Plummer, the vice-president of Huawei made the statement in response to comments made by former CIA chief Michael Hayden who accused Huawei of sharing “extensive knowledge of the foreign telecommunications systems” that it worked on with the Chinese government. The company has attempted to shake off these rumours before, opening a ‘Cyber Security Evaluation Center’ in the UK last year and working with GCHQ (part of the British security services which include Mi5 and Mi6) to prove their integrity.
Huawei has consistently denied allegations of spying from the UK and US administrations but Plummer’s recent comments have escalated the war of words. Engadget quoted him as saying “these tired, unsubstantiated, defamatory remarks are sad distractions from real-world concerns related to espionage, industrial and otherwise.
