No manufacturer is classified as high risk or excluded from the 5G security review

The topic of security was addressed during the press conference at which Anacom presented the draft auction regulation for the allocation of 5G licenses in Portugal, where the importance of the topic that is among the priorities defined for the new generation of mobile networks. Despite talking about topics in general, always without mentioning names of manufacturers, in response to journalists, Manuel Pedrosa de Barros, director of communications security at Anacom, was clear to say that no manufacturer has ever been classified as high risk or excluded in the security scan for 5G, although the scan is not yet complete.

The head of the security portfolio at Anacom is also following the topic at the meetings of the working group in Europe and detailed that the communications security regulation, approved in April, asks operators to indicate which suppliers are considered essential. The European assessment has been classifying the different sensitive areas, because in the network architecture there are active and passive equipment, and they have different classifications regarding a risk profile.

The recommendations include the classification of the risk profiles of suppliers, in a specific technical analysis in each country, but also point to a diversification of companies that supply equipment. "The risk profile classification matter is one of the tasks that the working group has been studying and there is a subject that is more technical and another that has a specific analysis, done at the level of each country", explains Manuel Pedrosa de Barros.

The European communication instructs each member state to carry out its analysis of the risk profile of each supplier and Portugal now has two months, from the date of publication of the resolution of the Council of Ministers, for the working group to disclose the first analysis.

The criteria are part of the European analysis, the "toolbox" made available last week, and the measures even provide for the exclusion of suppliers. "We intend to follow and be aligned with what is being done in Europe", explains this communications security officer. By June Portugal has to have a clear idea of ​​what it has to do in this area, he explains.

Even if a supplier is considered to have a high risk profile, there are still conditions to continue to be a supplier of equipment, but with restrictions. According to the recommendations, an operator in the different components of his network must diversify in order not to be dependent on a single supplier.

There are already countries to announce measures that go beyond the recommendations and companies to announce the removal of Huawei equipment from their networks, as in the case of Vodafone.

Editor's note: The news has been updated with more information. latest update 14h56