CIA Leak Claims Huawei Received Funds From Chinese State Security

A new leak claims the CIA has accused Chinese company Huawei of receiving funds from the People's Liberation Army, China's National Security Commission, and the nation's state intelligence network. This allegation has reportedly been passed on to officials in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, joining past accusations directed at the Chinese company.

The claims were published over the weekend by British newspaper The Times, which claims it received information about the matter from a source in the United Kingdom. According to the report, the Central Intelligence Agency provided intelligence to British officials that revealed Huawei's alleged funding from the Chinese government.

The news comes amid Huawei's expansive supply of telecommunications equipment, particularly the hardware needed to get 5G mobile networks up and running. US officials have previously expressed concerns that Huawei's hardware could be used for espionage, reportedly going so far as to quietly block the company's plan to install a wireless network in the Washington Redskins stadium.

Huawei has faced security rumors and concerns from various US sources over the last several years; the company has repeatedly denied the claims. The US isn't the only country that has expressed worries over Huawei's telecommunications hardware, however.

Back in 2013, for example, Australia upheld a ban that prevented Huawei handsets from being used on the country's National Broadband Network. The country has also considered blocking Huawei from participating in its 5G network. Similarly, Canadian officials had expressed security concerns related to Huawei hardware back in 2012.