ZTE opens cybersecurity centre to allay regulator fears

Chinese telecommunications company ZTE – hit by swingeing fines imposed by US regulators for export control and sanctions violations – has announced the launch of its first cybersecurity lab in Nanjing, China, which is intended, according to industry reports, to

‘contribute [to its] goal of increasing transparency. The cybersecurity lab aims to provide global customers, regulators and other stakeholders with security assessment and audit services, such as source code review on ZTE products including 4G and 5G, security design audit, procedural document review, black box testing and penetration testing.’
RCR Wireless news reports ZTE’s chief security officer as saying:

‘The security lab is an open and cooperative platform for the industry. ZTE plans to gradually achieve the cybersecurity goals through three steps: first, meeting the requirements of cybersecurity laws, regulations and industry standards as well as certification schemes; second, conducting an open dialogue to enhance transparency and establishing cooperation with customers as well as regulatory agencies; and third, sustaining the open cooperation mechanism to contribute to cybersecurity standardization.’
It notes that at an event earlier this year, ZTE’s chief scientist said, ‘If anybody is concerned about the security of our products, we can open the source code for customers and governments. If they want, they can take a view of the source code and even scan the source code of our products for monitoring.’