The head of an Australian intelligence agency has addressed the decision to exclude Chinese telecoms firms from the country’s 5G rollout.
The head of an Australian intelligence agency has addressed the decision to exclude Chinese telecoms firms from the country’s 5G rollout.
Speaking at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute national security dinner in Canberra on Monday, Mike Burgess, director general of the Australian Signals Directorate, said the exclusion was a matter of national security.
Burgess said his agency’s purpose was to “protect Australians, our values and our way of life,” dubbing the Chinese telecoms carriers “high-risk vendors.”
He added that if 5G technology delivered on its promise, the next generation of telecommunications networks would be at the top of every country’s list of critical national infrastructure, which could be at risk of data theft or infiltration.
“5G technology will underpin the communications that Australians rely on every day, from our health systems and the potential applications of remote surgery, to self-driving cars and through to the operation of our power and water supply. The stakes could not be higher,” Burgess said.
“Historically, we have protected the sensitive information and functions at the core of our telecommunications networks by confining our high-risk vendors to the edge of our networks.
