24のEU諸国が初期5Gセキュリティリスク評価を完了

このニュースには、アメリカ、その同盟国、そして中国の間で何年にもわたる政治的なソープオペラの中心となってきた中国を拠点とするベンダHuaweiとZTEの直接的な言及は含まれていません。Two dozen European Union (EU) member states have completed the first step in setting up national risk assessments tied to securing their 5G networks. The move comes nearly four months after the European Commission (EC) released a strategy framework for securing 5G networks in the shadow of a tense geo-political battle between the United States and China. The risk assessments were initially proposed in late March. They include EU member states identifying main threats and “actors” impacting 5G networks; how sensitive 5G network components and functions are to possible security threats; and the different types of vulnerabilities that can arise from the 5G supply chain. The EC also recommended that member states work with suppliers and operators toward ensuring network security. Those member states have the right to “exclude companies from their markets for national security reasons, if they do not comply with the country’s standards and legal framework.” “These measures should include reinforced obligations on suppliers and operators to ensure the security of the networks,” the EC document states. “The national risk assessments and measures should consider various risk factors, such as technical risks and risks linked to the behavior of suppliers or operators, including those from third countries.” The next step in the EC risk assessment program will be to feed the completed data into an EU-wide risk assessment that is to be completed by Oct. 1. That plan will include input from the EU member states, the EC, and the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA). The EC said that it hopes that assessment will be taken into account as part of ongoing 5G spectrum auctions and network deployments. News on completion of this first step by 24 of the EU’s 28 member states cunningly excludes any direct mention of China-based vendors Huawei and ZTE that have been at the center of a multi-year political soap opera between the United States, its allies, and China. However, the initial proposal did cite concerns raised by the European Parliament on security threats “connected with the rising Chinese technological presence in the Union.” The U.S.-led fight to exclude the use of equipment from those China-based vendors has ruffled the feathers of U.S. allies. While the U.S. has threatened to limit the sharing of intelligence information to countries that allow those vendors to supply equipment to 5G networks, some countries have moved forward on allowing their country’s telecom operators to use that equipment. German operators Vodafone Germany and Deutsche Telekom, for instance, have recently launched 5G networks in that country using Huawei equipment. Those operators have stated that the Huawei equipment is superior to that of equipment offered by rival vendors Nokia and Ericsson, which in turn those vendors have categorically denied. The operator assessment was vindicated by a recent GlobalData report that ranked Huawei’s 5G radio access network (RAN) equipment portfolio above that of its competitors. Ed Gubbins, principal analyst at GlobalData and author of the report, pointed out that Huawei’s leadership in terms of the capabilities of its 5G RAN portfolio isn’t that surprising, “since the vendor’s 4G RAN portfolio has been exhibiting leadership for similar reasons in our assessments for some time now.” With regard to the political climate, Gubbins noted that Huawei’s RAN portfolio leadership “potentially adds to the tension between operators that might favor Huawei gear over competitors and government entities that are concerned about Huawei for security or trade reasons.”