Many politicians in the West are uneasy about the Chinese network supplier.
(Photo: Reuters)
Berlin The supervisory board of the state-owned Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) has reservations about the use of Huawei technology when setting up an internal IT network due to security concerns.
The Greens member of the Bundestag Stefan Gelbhaar, who is also a member of the railway supervisory board, told the Handelsblatt that he had already pointed out the subject to the Federal Ministry of Transport from department head Volker Wissing (FDP). “The ministry must develop a clear stance on this and enforce it against the railways.”
Gelbhaar also sees the responsibility of the railway company. “In the case of the railway, also via the supervisory board, the assessment of and the handling of the safety risk must also be on the agenda,” said the transport politician. “This is a very important point for the digital director and for Deutsche Bahn’s digital strategy.”
Other rail inspectors are also critical of the use of the Chinese network supplier’s technology. According to information from the Handelsblatt, the committee requested more information from the group about the order to Telekom for the digitization of DB with Huawei components.
The Supervisory Board has a total of 20 members, traditionally also members of the Bundestag and officials from ministries. The committee is chaired by the Budget Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Werner Gatzer, who left a query from the Handelsblatt unanswered on the subject.
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The federal government’s rail commissioner, Michael Theurer (FDP), confirmed that the railroad had decided in December to place an order for the delivery of 60 percent of the components for the new network with the Telekom subsidiary Business Solutions. “This company also uses Huawei technology,” Theurer said in response to a request from CDU member of the Bundestag Norbert Röttgen.
Beware of espionage or sabotage
The course of action was therefore recently met with sharp criticism in the traffic light coalition. The FDP even brought a legal ban on Huawei into play. However, the Federal Ministry of Transport currently sees no need for action.
Chinese companies like Huawei have long been under close scrutiny in numerous other countries because of their proximity to the government in Beijing and were already classified as a threat to national security by the USA in 2020.
However, espionage or sabotage has not yet been clearly proven in the companies concerned. Huawei always emphasizes that it meets the highest security standards and is not under the influence of “any external organizations or persons in its actions”.
However, Chinese security laws oblige companies from the People’s Republic to cooperate with government agencies. Unlike in democratic countries, companies in China have no way of defending themselves against state intervention.
German secret services are therefore also critical of partnerships between German industry and Huawei. The Vice President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Sinan Selen, said about Telekom’s connections to the tech provider on the sidelines of an event on espionage, sabotage and cyber risks for the German economy on Thursday in Berlin: “Of course we have a problem, a feeling of disturbance .”
CDU politician Röttgen calls for the Telekom-Huawei deal to be stopped
He finds it “always difficult when you consciously become dependent on individual companies that you know are affiliated and integrated with the state”. The Ministry of Transport, on the other hand, argues that the railways, as the operator of non-public mobile radio networks, are neither obliged to certify critical components nor to notify the Federal Ministry of the Interior of the installation of critical components.
A railway spokeswoman also points out that there is “no warning” from the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) about the use of Huawei technology. “Of course we follow the recommendations of the federal authorities.”
The CDU politician Röttgen considers such statements to be unacceptable and calls for the federal government to intervene. If Deutsche Bahn is now planning to rely on Huawei technology, “then I expect the federal government to stop their representatives on the supervisory board,” said the MP on Twitter.
More: Telecom industry complains about possible Huawei ban.