Could Huawei threaten the Five Eyes alliance?

[NANO]

In the shiny, optimistic vision of the future we will all be living in "smart cities" in which self-driving cars will check the best routes after being charged up on intelligent, connected power grids.

Public services and safety will be carefully managed though data, while devices in our homes will talk to each other and the wider world as part of the "internet-of-things". Many of these services will be delivered over what is called 5G. It will be much more than just faster data on our phones, but potentially transformational for our lives - if you believe the hype. But there is a darker fear as well. What if it is also transformational for our security if we end up reliant on a Chinese company to deliver this future? That question risks causing a major divide in the Five Eyes - the intelligence alliance between the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The US is campaigning hard among allies to exclude the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from delivering 5G. "We have serious concerns over Huawei's obligations to the Chinese government and the danger that poses to the integrity of telecommunications networks in the US and elsewhere," Bill Evanina, head of America's National Counterintelligence and Security Center has said. "Chinese company relationships with the Chinese government aren't like private sector company relationships with governments in the West." 'Rigorous oversight' Huawei has always denied being controlled by the Chinese government, or that its work poses any risks of espionage and sabotage. Its founder repeated these assertions in a recent interview with the BBC.