A lawyer representing Huawei Technologies told federal officials today that statutory requirements for banning foreign influence in the government's IT supply chain should be met through a broad cybersecurity risk-management process, rather than an entity-based purchasing prohibition that targets Huawei products. James Gauch of law firm Jones Day said the Defense Department, General Services Administration and NASA should adopt an "overall framework to improving cybersecurity" to address requirements of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act that restrict government purchases from contractors who rely on products and services from companies with ties to foreign adversaries such as China, which includes Huawei and ZTE technology firms. Other companies affected by the statute are Hytera Communications, Dahua Technology and Hangzhou Hikvision Digital. Concerns about the government's reliance on Huawei products are largely focused on the build-out of fifth-generation 5G networks, which the Pentagon says is crucial to maintaining U.S. military superiority, and with major implications for private telecom companies and the delivery of high-speed internet access to consumers.
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