Huawei was able to monitor all calls made on one of the largest Dutch mobile phone networks

On April 17, 2021, Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant reported that Chinese tech giant “may have eavesdropped on Dutch mobile network’s calls.” Dutch telecom operator KPN started using Huawei technology in 2009 and requested a risk assessment the following year. The assessment, which was kept confidential, found that Huawei could evesdrop on all conversations on KPN’s network, which included those of the Prime Minister. Huawei also knew which numbers were monitored by Dutch police and intelligence services. Finally, the report also said that the Chinese company accessed the network core from China. KPN responded to the April 2021 article by saying it had never observed Huawei taking client information and that it conducted maintenance of the core network itself. But de Volkskrant reported the next day that management of KPN’s 4G network is in fact still outsourced to Huawei. Under PRC law, Huawei is obligated to participate in national intelligence work, has been credibly accused of cooperation with PRC intelligence agencies, and is owned ultimately by a trade union entity likely controlled by the CCP.

About This Incident

Incident Metadata

Date: 2010 - Ongoing
Country: Netherlands