Huawei Is Once Again Being Accused Of Stealing Pakistani Data

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JAKARTA - Huawei is again facing accusations because the company allegedly placed a backdoor in the database. It is known that the network contains data from Lahore residents, Pakistan.

According to The Wall Street Journal, American contractor Business Efficiency Solutions (BES) has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Huawei of not only stealing technology but also of pressuring the company to install backdoors in the database.

It is intended to project safer cities for law enforcement in Lahore, Pakistan. The system is supposed to give Huawei access to databases that help it collect sensitive citizen and government data.

Of course, this is a national security concern for Pakistan. BES alleged that Huawei insisted on creating a duplicate version of the Lahore network in Suzhou, China, which would provide direct access to Pakistani data.

While BES wants permission from Pakistani officials before implementing the backdoor, Huawei claims it doesn't need permission and has threatened to break the deal if BES doesn't implement it soon.

The Chinese giant later said it had obtained permission, but Huawei did not provide evidence when asked. In addition, Huawei stated there is no evidence that it has installed backdoors in any products.

In a statement from the previous dispute, Huawei acknowledged the existence of duplicate systems in China but, they explained it was only an isolated network trial version, making it impossible to extract data.

A supervisor in Lahore, Muhammad Kamran Khan said currently an investigation is ongoing but there is no evidence of data theft so far. Whether the accusations against Huawei are true or not, the lawsuit highlights ongoing concerns that Huawei may be aiding the Chinese government's surveillance purposes.

The company has long denied the allegations, and there is no evidence that it has used backdoors to spy on other countries. However, that did not dispel the suspicions that led the United States (US), Britain, and others to blacklist Huawei. This case later might only make Huawei's situation worse.