Chinese telecommunications equipment supplier Huawei has appointed a former U.K. government chief information officer to oversee the company's cyber security assurance system, a move that could help improve the company's reputation. Chinese telecommunications equipment supplier Huawei has appointed a former U.K. government chief information officer to oversee the company’s cyber security assurance system, a move that could help improve the company’s reputation. In terms of sales, Huawei is the world’s third largest vendor for networking equipment, behind Cisco and Ericsson. But the company has struggled to complete business deals in the U.S., where it has faced allegations of having links with the Chinese military. Part of the allegations stem from Huawei CEO’s Ren Zhengfei stint in China’s People Liberation Army as an engineer before starting the company. U.S. lawmakers have worried technology bought from Huawei could be secretly used by the Chinese military to disrupt or manipulate U.S. communications.Huawei has, however, stepped up its efforts to clear its reputation after a U.S. government panel requested the company to reverse a deal it made to acquire a U.S. startup. In February, Huawei released an open letter that stressed the company was employee-owned and has never invested in military technologies. The company has also contracted third-party security audits of its products to ensure there are no “back doors” to allow the Chinese government to gain access to Huawei equipment. On Monday, Huawei announced former UK government CIO John Suffolk would become the company’s global cyber security officer, effective on Oct. 1. Suffolk will develop the company’s cyber security assurance strategy, which will be implemented across all the company’s business groups. He will report directly to Huawei’s CEO.In a statement, Huawei said its cyber security assurance system operates to protect products involving cloud computing, telecommunication networks, devices and business processes. Suffolk served as the UK government CIO for close to five years, but resigned last year. The appointment of Suffolk to the position is a “positive step” for Huawei in its efforts to change perceptions of the company, said Matt Walker, a analyst with research firm Ovum. “I don’t believe it will have much impact on Huawei’s political challenges. However, it does help give Huawei’s existing customers a tangible data point to support their faith in the company,” he said. The appointment will also reassures potential customers as Huawei moves to expand further into enterprise markets. “Security is extremely important in these markets. Huawei — as a new entrant, essentially — will have a higher hurdle than its better known, established rivals,” Walker said. Related content news Arm patches bugs in Mali GPUs that affect Android phones and Chromebooks The vulnerability with active exploitations allows local non-privileged users to access freed-up memory for staging new attacks. By Shweta Sharma Oct 03, 2023 3 mins Android Security Android Security Mobile Security news UK businesses face tightening cybersecurity budgets as incidents spike More than a quarter of UK organisations think their cybersecurity budget is inadequate to protect them from growing threats. By Michael Hill Oct 03, 2023 3 mins CSO and CISO Risk Management news Cybersecurity experts raise concerns over EU Cyber Resilience Act’s vulnerability disclosure requirements Open letter claims current provisions will create new threats that undermine the security of digital products and individuals. By Michael Hill Oct 03, 2023 4 mins Regulation Compliance Vulnerabilities feature The value of threat intelligence — and challenges CISOs face in using it effectively Knowing the who, what, when, and how of bad actors and their methods is a boon to security, but experts say many teams are not always using such intel to their best advantage. By Mary K. Pratt Oct 03, 2023 10 mins CSO and CISO Advanced Persistent Threats Threat and Vulnerability Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe