Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. has a very strong telecommunications foothold in Africa. Many security experts believe that Huawei has been and continues to be associated with the Chinese government information sharing program. Their strong presence in Africa in numerous aspects of cyber technology, is close to becoming a monopoly in Africa. This corner of the market sets the stage for ambiguous domination of cyber technology within the African continent. This information is being supplied for your situational awareness.
- Huawei Ltd. began their African operations in 1999.
- In 17 years, Huawei has expanded exponentially with major footholds in Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, North African and Western Africa.
- Huawei has long been suspected as a corporation in collusion with the government of China and continues to create cyber security suspicion.
Huawei was suspected by South Sudan of surveillance and forgery in 2014. This was an alleged effort to gain market intelligence and delay of a funding timeline for a rival telecom infrastructure project. There has not been current reporting on these accusations, yet it illustrates the savvy nature of Huawei in creating a near African monopoly on cyber systems, IT infrastructure, cyber products and associated training. Mr. Vincent (Bo) Pang, President of Huawei’s Western European Region, in response to the South Sudan claim, stated that Huawei is trusted across Africa because it is, “in the region for the long haul.” This never a truer statement.
Wapack Labs, Africa Desk will continue to monitor Huawei and their African development.
Publication Date: 27 November 2016
Handling Requirements: Traffic light protocol (TLP) GREEN
Attribution/Threat Actors: Chinese APT
Actor Type: Adversary capabilities have been assessed as Tier IV
Potential Targets: Vodafone, French Thales, Orange & numerous African telecoms
Past Reporting: DOC-4455/4249/2902, Msg-8558
