Securing national infrastructure in an age of global supply
chains is a major challenge, demonstrated by recent debate over
the UK’s 5G telecommunications infrastructure and the role of
international equipment suppliers.
Today, the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy
(JCNSS) launches an inquiry into the Government’s approach to
sustaining access to ‘safe’ telecoms technology as
a national security issue. The inquiry will focus on 5G
and the wider telecoms sector as an important test case.
The announcement comes as the House of Commons’ Science and
Technology Committee concludes that there are no technical
grounds for the UK Government to exclude Huawei entirely from the
UK’s 5G or other telecommunications networks, though the
Government should mandate its exclusion from ‘core’ UK networks
and maintain its close scrutiny of Huawei software.
However, the limited number of alternative suppliers is one of
the main reasons identified by the Science and Technology
Committee for continuing to use Huawei equipment in the UK’s
telecoms infrastructure.
The Government’s 2015 National Security Strategy and
Strategic Defence and Security Review emphasises the importance
of “seizing opportunities, harnessing innovation … and
working with industry to ensure we have the capabilities and
equipment that we need”, under its ‘Promote our
Prosperity’ objective. The 2015 Strategy also identifies the
“role of technology” as one of four principal challenges likely
to drive UK security priorities over the following
decade.
The Chair of JCNSS, , said:
“We are standing on the brink of a technological revolution. The
next generation of telecoms infrastructure will change our world
in ways which we can’t yet foresee. Energy, transport, health,
education – changing the underlying infrastructure will impact on
the ways we interact and use these services and has the potential
to revolutionise the UK’s economy.
“It is absolutely vital that we get this right. The foundations
of this work must be secure. Yet the Government has found itself
in a situation where it has just three viable options for
suppliers of key equipment for the UK’s 5G infrastructure.
“One of the questions for this inquiry is how Government can
build a secure future for all of us which does not rely too
closely on individual providers. As the Government’s SDSR spells
out, seizing opportunities and harnessing innovation across
industry is essential to building robust frameworks for the
change ahead. We can’t put all our eggs in one or two baskets - a
resilient and secure network means spreading the risk across
strong and solid foundations.”
The Committee welcomes written submissions which address the
following terms of reference:
- The
challenges for the UK telecoms industry in a global market;
-
- The
opportunities and risks involved in purchasing equipment and
services for the UK telecoms sector from foreign suppliers;
- The
effectiveness of the Government’s past and current support to the
UK telecoms industry and innovation within the sector;
-
- Areas
of strength and innovation in the UK telecoms industry;
- The
scope and implementation of key documents including, but not
limited to, the 2015 National Security Strategy and the 2017
Industrial Strategy;
- The
potential role of regulation and legislation including, but not
limited to, the 2018 White Paper on National Security and
Investment;
- The roles
and responsibilities of the National Security Council and
relevant Government departments and agencies;
- The extent
to which policy-making in this area draws on cross-government
science, technology and cyber security expertise;
- How the
UK’s approach compares with that of allies and partners such as
France, Germany, the US, Canada and Australia;
- The potential
for international cooperation with like-minded countries and
multinational organisations in sustaining key industrial sectors,
such as telecoms.
This new inquiry builds on the Committee’s previous work on the
cyber security of critical national infrastructure and the
Government’s 2018 White Paper on National Security and
Investment.
The deadline for written submissions is 13 September 2019.
