Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to add Huawei’s response.
The State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, also known as SSSCIPU or Derzhspetszviazok, has allegedly removed information from its website about cooperation with Chinese tech giant Huawei, Ukraine’s Evropeiska Pravda news outlet reported on Oct. 16.
On Oct. 15, the head of the agency, Yuri Shchigol, announced it had signed a memorandum of cooperation in the fields of cybersecurity and telecommunications with Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment vendor, which has regularly faced accusations of cyber-espionage.
“We are ready to work closely with Huawei to ensure and enhance cybersecurity and cyber protection in Ukraine,” Shchigol said, while Huawei Ukraine Director Ma Qi said that such cooperation could “build an effective cyber security system in Ukraine,” according to the agency’s press service.
Derzhspetszviazok, responsible for Ukraine’s cybersecurity, reportedly took down the message about partnership with Huawei from its website and social media on Oct. 16. But it was too late, as reporters had already taken notice of the deal.
Twelve separate departments of the agency either refused to give the Kyiv Post a comment about the partnership with Huawei or didn’t respond to a phone call.
An advisor to the head of the agency, Oleksandr Skrynnik, whom several departments named as the person responsible for the matter, said he had nothing to do with the partnership and suggested calling the department of international cooperation, whose number is not available on the service’s website.
When the Kyiv Post finally reached them for a comment, the head of the international department, Yulia Volkova, said that she had already left the office and wouldn’t answer any questions.
Volkova’s deputy, Oksana Krekota, refused to comment either, saying that she is not authorized to discuss the issue.
On Oct. 17, Oksana Tereshchuk, PR manager of Huawei Ukraine, told the Kyiv Post that Huawei “will continue to exchange experience to support Ukraine Cyber Security capability.”
“We follow the principles of openness and transparency,” she said.
Evropeiska Pravda suggested that Derzhspetszviazok deleted the announcements after the Ukrainain government faced criticism from its Western partners for cooperating with Huawei. While the news outlet did not cite the source of this information, the idea is not far-fetched.
Critics have long alleged that Huawei has close links to the Chinese government and its equipment could be used for espionage purposes — something the company has always denied.
Huawei designs and manufactures kits that control how and where data is sent, which are critical for the network to function properly.
The company is especially prominent in the parts of the network closer to the data centers, and this involvement has raised concerns among Western governments due to the close proximity between the firm and the Chinese government.
The United States government has accused Huawei of espionage and working for the Chinese secret services. Washington has banned U.S. companies from working with the Chinese tech giant in most areas and sees the company as a threat to national security.
Last year, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the U.S. would not cooperate with countries that use Huawei systems.
On July 15, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered all Huawei technology to be stripped out of the U.K.’s 5G network by 2027 and banned the purchase of any new 5G equipment from the Chinese tech giant by the end of 2020.
Australia has also prohibited the installation of any Huawei equipment as part of the next generation of telecommunications equipment.
