The Czech branch of the Chinese company Huawei is suspected of collecting sensitive data on officials and businessmen through its employees. This material is allegedly gathered during business meetings and subsequently entered into a central database to which the company’s headquarters in China have access. Czech Radio’s investigative team at Radiožurnál broke the story, citing former Huawei employees and Czech intelligence sources.
Two former managers who worked at the Czech branch of the Chinese tech and telecommunications giant Huawei recently spoke under condition of anonymity to Czech Radio’s investigative team, which has been analysing how exactly Huawei functions in the Czech Republic.
“Access to the information, which is stored in this customer relationship management system, is managed exclusively from the headquarters in China. It is very hard to find and prove who has access to this data and what they use it for.”
Furthermore, it was allegedly common practice for Huawei employees to discuss the gathered information at meetings with Chinese Embassy employees. The source was unable to say whether these were spies.