HYDERABAD: Lauding the UK’s decision to ban China-based Huwaei from 5G networks, US Consul General Joel Reifman said India should take similar measures to safeguard the country’s critical digital systems from ‘untrusted vendors’.
Reifman, who was speaking at a webinar held on the launch of Verizon’s Cyber Threat Readiness Analysis Report on Tuesday, said, “We commend the proactive measures that India and private telecommunications are taking to secure critical telecommunication infrastructure from untrusted vendors such as China’s Huwaei. Last week, the UK reversed its policy and banned Huwaei from all its equipment. We applaud this decision and recommend that India takes a similar decision. The US will support your government in alleviating the national security risk of untrusted vendors in your critical security system”.He said the collaboration between US’ Homeland Security department and India’s Ministry of Electronics, Information Technology (MEITY) would prove critical in defending against foreign cyberattacks.
“In 2011, Homeland Security and MEITY signed an Mou that allowed for our CERT to interact regularly. Our governments are also convening a bilateral cyber dialogue in September to discuss shared challenges in identifying new ways to secure our digital infrastructure. This collaboration will also prove critical in defending against critical actors such as those in Russia, who hack companies and work on vaccine research,” he said.