Huawei offers Australian government 'unrestricted' access to gear, software code

Huawei, the Chinese telcom gear provider banned from being a supplier for the Australian national broadband network, has called for a government-run body tasked with checking equipment for security backdoors, The Australian Financial Review reports. The proposal is the firm’s attempt to quell fears that it is a national security threat.

“Huawei is proposing the establishment of a National Cyber Security Evaluation Centre, to test the security credentials of technologies being implemented into critical infrastructure projects,” Huawei Australia chairman John Lord said at the Australian National Press Club. He added that the company could offer “complete and unrestricted access” to software source code and equipment, according to the article.

The company was barred from bidding on Australian contracts for the network this year. It was also hit by charges from the U.S. House Intelligence Committee of being a security threat to the United States because its gear could be used to spy on sensitive networks for China.

A listing on the Australian Securities Exchange is a five-to-10 year goal of Huawei’s Australian board, the Wall Street Journal reported September.