Spain's Contract with Huawei Makes the US Unhappy

Spain's government has faced severe criticism for signing a contract worth millions of euros with Huawei to store judicially authorized wiretapping documents – this move has raised doubts among several U.S. lawmakers about the U.S. intelligence sharing with Spain.

The Spanish media outlet "The Objective" reported this month that Huawei won a 12.3 million euro contract from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior to store wiretaps authorized by the judiciary used by law enforcement agencies and intelligence departments in the country.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Spanish Ministry of the Interior told Politico Europe that they believe "the contract complies with the cybersecurity regulations set by the Spanish National Cryptography Center." The spokesperson also stated that this transaction does not involve "any security risks."

However, officials and analysts from across the United States have warned that this contract indeed poses significant problems. On Thursday, senior members of the U.S. Congress Intelligence Committees called on the Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, to review the intelligence sharing with Spain to ensure that classified information is not leaked to adversaries.

In Washington, the chairmen of the U.S. House and Senate Intelligence Committees, Crawford and Cotton, are pushing for an examination of the U.S.-Spain intelligence arrangements. Crawford said in a statement earlier this week that the decision of Spain to sign with Huawei was "almost unimaginable."

On Thursday, Crawford and Cotton wrote to Haines, urging her to reduce intelligence sharing and stating that before Spain takes action against Huawei, "the U.S. government should ensure that any information shared with the Spanish government is redacted, removing details that should not be shared with adversaries." Huawei has not yet responded to the request for comment. The Spanish National Institute for Cybersecurity has also declined to comment.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1838066881443915/

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