The Dutch government, under the leadership of the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV), has set up an interdepartmental task force to investigate the risks involved in the construction and use of 5G. Minister Ferd Grapperhaus of Justice and Security reports this in a letter to the Lower House.
The three major telecom providers – KPN, T-Mobile and VodafoneZiggo – are working on a risk analysis for the vulnerability of 5G telecommunication networks. It looks at the risks of “misuse of technology providers for these networks and what measures are needed to manage the risks”, he said. The results of the Task Force are expected by the end of May.
China
Prime Minister Mark Rutte recently said that the cabinet had not yet made a decision about possible contributions by Chinese companies to the construction of a 5G network in the Netherlands. The intention is that in May the government will adopt a broader strategy on how the Netherlands should deal with the alleged espionage and economic relations with China. In addition, the government is awaiting an investigation from the NCTV.
Concerns about espionage by China rose again last week, when it emerged that trade secrets had been stolen from the Dutch chip machine maker ASML. A link was made between the guilty employees and the Chinese government.
Specifically, there have been concerns for some time about the Chinese company Huawei, which has been accused by the United States of helping the Chinese government with espionage. Huawei has always denied this. Yet there was a ban on the use of Huawei equipment by the American government, and the US is lobbying in Europe for the same ban.
Following the news about ASML, a parliamentary majority said that it intended to keep Huawei out of the 5G network for the time being, until the risks were known. “Until it is certain that it is safe, we should not do business with Huawei,” said VVD Member of Parliament Arne Weverling.
This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.