HUAWEI BRITISH HAUNT

HUAWEI in British spotlight over use of US firm's software. Huawei Technologies is facing  increased scrutiny in Britain because it is using an ageing software component sold by a firm based in the United States-

One of the countries where lawmakers allege its equipment could facilitate Chinese spying, sources told  Reuters

The fact that misgivings stem in part from Huawei's relationship with the US company shows how trade wars and heightened national security concerns are making it harder for technology firms and governments to safeguard products and communication network.

A report last month by a British government oversight board charged with analysing Huawei equipment said it had found technical and supply chain ''shortcomings'' which exposed the country's telecoms networks to new security risks.

One of those is due to Huawei's use of VxWorks operating system, which is made by California-based Wind River Systems, said three people with knowledge of the matter-

All of whom spoke on condition of anonymity when discussing details which were not made public in the report.

The sources said the version of VxWorks being used by Huawei will stop receiving security patches  and updates from Wind River in 2020, even though-

Some of the products  it is embedded in b will still be in service, potentially leaving British Telecom Networks vulnerable to attacks.

''Third party software, including security critical components, on various component boards will come out of existing  long-term support in 2020, even though the Huawei end of life date for the products containing this component is often longer, the July report, which did not name VxWorks, said.

US and Australian lawmakers  have said Huawei's products can be used  to  facilitate Chinese espionage operations, an   allegation the world's biggest produce of telecoms equipment  has repeatedly denied.

All three sources said there was no indication that the VxWorks mismatch was deliberate.

There is also no suggestion that the software itself represents a security risk. [Agencies]