German operators can still install technology components from China in their 5G networks, despite concerns raised by politicians and experts, according to a September 14 report by German news outlet Die Welt. The information is based on a previously undisclosed response from State Secretary Daniela Kluckert at the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport regarding the “status of the gigabit strategy implementation”. Since the enforcement of the IT Security Act 2.0 in May 2021, operators in Germany have reported their first critical component use to the Federal Ministry of the Interior eleven times, according to the government reply. Three of the 11 notifications involved components from Chinese manufacturers, and Section 9b of the Act on the Federal Office for Information Security currently does not prohibit the use of such components, the report said. The Federal Ministry of the Interior declined to reveal if companies like Huawei were mentioned, citing business and trade confidentiality reasons. Since spring, the German government has been conducting an investigation to identify components from manufacturers like Huawei and ZTE in the 5G network within the country to assess possible points of attack, according to Die Welt. Security authorities have not reported any findings yet, and the audit is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, the report said. [Die Wel, in German]
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