Andy Purdy, Huawei CSO in the US, recently took part in an interview with the Information Security Media Group, in which he pledged full transparency regarding 5G, in response White House warnings that Huawei equipment could pose a cybersecurity threat.
And Purdy is encouraging other telecommunications companies to follow suit when it comes to being fully transparent with 5G.
Walking the walk
Huawei is determined to prove that it isn’t working in league with the Chinese government, supplying China with sensitive information, and using 5G networks to carry out attacks. So much so that the CSO is asking for other companies to be fully transparent, just as Huawei is promising.
In regards to 5G security, Purdy urges that it’s important to make sure that companies “tell the truth about what 5G is, and what 5G isn’t”. He also understands that Huawei will need “greater security assurances”.
The Huawei CSO, Andy Purdy, previously worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and helped launch the National Cyber Security Division and the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team. And in relation to Hauwei’s current circumstances, he has said that Huawei “can no longer talk the talk of cybersecurity, we have to walk the walk”.
Previous work with US government
When Purdy’s previous work with the US government was brought up in the interview, Purdy responded, saying, “Because I work for Huawei, people assume what I’m going to say and even after I say things, they don’t really listen and that can be a little frustrating.”
He went on to say that when discussing the new transparency initiative, many say that it won’t change the US’ mind on Huawei. And his follow up to this was stark: “I don’t care [about US business],” Purdy said. “This is about making cyberspace safer.”
Purdy concluded the interview by calling upon the US government to require transparency from all 5G equipment suppliers.
“It shouldn’t be about us having a transparency initiative,” Purdy explained. “It should be about the US telecoms, the US government and the major stakeholders calling on Huawei, Nokia and Ericsson, telling us to come forward and say what we are doing, and what we are trying to do.”
