U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has been urged by House and Senate Intelligence panel chairs Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Rick Crawford, R-Ark., respectively, to reevaluate U.S. intelligence sharing with Spain after the latter was reported to have given Chinese telecommunications equipment provider Huawei a $14.6 million contract to manage its wiretapping system, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
"In essence, Huawei and the CCP could have backdoor access to the lawful intercept system of a NATO ally enabling them to monitor Spanish investigations of CCP spies and innumerable other intelligence activities," said the lawmakers in a letter to Gabbard. Both Cotton and Crawford recommended the removal of any information that could be valuable to China in intelligence shared with Spain until the country removes the Chinese firm from its networks. "By leveraging a known agent of the CCP to collect and store insurmountable amounts of sensitive data, Spain has made itself vulnerable to clear threats to the security and sovereignty of not only itself but allies around the world," said Crawford.
"In essence, Huawei and the CCP could have backdoor access to the lawful intercept system of a NATO ally enabling them to monitor Spanish investigations of CCP spies and innumerable other intelligence activities," said the lawmakers in a letter to Gabbard. Both Cotton and Crawford recommended the removal of any information that could be valuable to China in intelligence shared with Spain until the country removes the Chinese firm from its networks. "By leveraging a known agent of the CCP to collect and store insurmountable amounts of sensitive data, Spain has made itself vulnerable to clear threats to the security and sovereignty of not only itself but allies around the world," said Crawford.
