British report: Serious 'defects' in Huawei technology

March 28 (UPI) -- Chinese telcom giant Huawei has "significant technical issues" that pose new risks to Britain's telecommunications network, an industry watchdog said in a new study Thursday.

The report comes as the company's devices are under intense criticisms from Western nations for posing risks to national security -- a claim Huawei has repeatedly rejected.

Britain's Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Center Oversight Board said in the report investigators found serious deficiencies in Huawei equipment, and that the company has made "no material progress" on fixing the issue.

"[The board] has continued to find serious vulnerabilities in the Huawei products examined," the report states. "Some vulnerabilities identified in previous versions of products continue to exist."

"The oversight board has not yet seen anything to give it confidence in Huawei's capacity to successfully complete [the transformation] it has proposed as a means of addressing these underlying defects," it added. "[Our] work has continued to identify concerning issues in Huawei's approach to software development bringing significantly increased risk to U.K. operators."

The analysis does not make any clear link between potential security vulnerabilities in Huawei equipment and Chinese government-sponsored espionage.

The group stopped short of recommending Britain ban Huawei equipment and infrastructure, as it prepares to roll out new 5G networks. It does, however, cast doubt on whether the cellphone maker should be involved with the process before it makes any of the called-for improvements.

The United States, New Zealand and Australia have banned Huawei equipment for all future 5G networks, and the U.S. Defense Department has barred Huawei devices from military bases worldwide, citing a security risk. Chinese phone maker ZTE is also included in the Pentagon's ban.

Huawei has repeatedly denied the accusations and has asked the Trump administration for evidence to support the idea their devices threaten national security.

The company answered the report Thursday, saying it still doesn't conclude Huawei devices or infrastructure pose a greater security threat than they have at any point in the last two years.

"We understand these concerns and take them very seriously," a Huawei spokesperson said. "To ensure the ongoing security of global telecom networks, the industry, regulators and governments need to work together on higher common standards for cybersecurity."