Date:03/08/11

Huawei hires former UK official as cyber-security officer

Chinese telecommunications-equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co. said Monday it has hired a former chief information officer for the U.K. government as a cyber-security official, as the company faces continued scrutiny in developed markets where it aims to expand.
Huawei has faced political obstacles to expansion in developed markets, especially in the U.S., over what critics call close ties to the Chinese government-something Huawei denies. John Suffolk, who will report to Huawei's secretive chief executive, Ren Zhengfei, will start as Huawei's first "global cyber security officer" on Oct. 1, the company said.
The job includes "monitoring and improving all aspects of information security across Huawei's global supply chain," Huawei said. It also includes overseeing "delivery of telecommunications networks based on the security requirements of... customers and the jurisdictions in which they operate."Suffolk's job isn't a sales or lobbying role, Huawei said. Among the obstacles Huawei has faced to expanding in the U.S., network operator Sprint Nextel Corp. last year excluded Huawei and another Chinese telecom equipment maker, ZTE Corp., from a contract valued at billions of dollars, largely because of national-security concerns in Washington.
Huawei has taken steps to try to improve its image in Washington, where federal regulators must approve any sale of sensitive assets to foreigners. In 2009, Huawei hired an American chief technical officer, Matt Bross, who previously held the same position at U.K. telecommunications firm BT Group PLC, to help win U.S. business. Huawei has also aimed to boost its security credentials overseas. Late last year, Huawei opened a U.K. cyber-security center that it said was meant to improve telecom network security based on international standards.

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