取信美国，华为推动建立网络安全国际标准

    还记得1995年艾拉妮丝•莫里赛特的那首“Ironic”吗？这里又有一种可以加到她讽刺清单上的意外状况：中国电信设备制造商华为公司（Huawei）由于所谓的与中国政府的关系而被挡在美国市场之外，如今它却正在推动建立网络安全国际标准。

    华为曾经尝试过几次美国项目的投标，然而均告失败。不过它之所以被拒于市场大门之外，还是由于美国政府担心让它负责建设美国的关键基础设施会让美国网络遭受间谍入侵。作为回应，华为开始了旷日持久的游说和公关工作，希望证明自己的产品并不会威胁美国的网络。它还试着订购了超过60亿美元的博通公司（Broadcom）、高通公司（Qualcomm）和其他当地公司的处理器和其他配件，以此向美国商界示好。通过增加领导层的曝光度（包括最近华为的轮值CEO郭平接受《财富》的采访），它试图赢得公众的信任。如今，为了重塑形象，华为又在推动全球相关部门在一系列安全标准上进行合作。华为美国分部的首席安全官安迪•普迪（前美国国土安全部部长——译注）说：“这似乎不符合人们的直觉。不过为了提高全球基础设施的安全性，我还是加入了（这家公司）。”

    本周，华为发布了白皮书，呼吁建立一系列安全标准。在发布报告之前，华为的副董事长胡厚昆也力图缓解美国政府对华为的恐惧。他说：“我们可以保证，除了一些提升端对端网络安全能力的建议外，从未有任何政府或其下属机构要求我们改变立场、政策、流程、硬件、软件、雇佣行为或任何事情。我们可以保证，从未有人向我们索要技术的访问权，或者提供有关任何公民、组织或政府及其所属机构的任何数据或信息。”

    这份白皮书名为《网络安全远景》（Cyber Security Perspectives），号召各公司和监管部门通力协作，建立网络安全国际标准。为了实现这个目的，华为分享了自己的一些最佳案例，并将很快发布华为客户最常问到的100个关于网络安全的问题清单。

    华为在领导建立这种全球安全框架上的态度究竟有多认真，在发布白皮书之后，它又将采取什么措施，这些都尚不明了。不过显然，无论如何，华为都铁了心要进军美国市场。

    去年春天，几名华为高管曾暗示公司已经不再对美国市场感兴趣。不过公司发言人威廉•普卢默表示，事实并非如此，他称华为是美国不公的歧视和贸易保护主义的受害者。这家公司去年收入350亿美元，但在利润丰厚的美国无线市场占有率很低（尽管实际上华为已经被禁止参与网络设备的竞标，但它还可以出售手机和各种服务）。更重要的是，在与监管部门作斗争的同时，它还缺乏品牌认可度。

    这也就是说，华为有耐心，有战略，而且财力雄厚。尽管一部白皮书不太可能让公众的偏好倒向华为这边，但华为已经意识到它关于政治形象和公共形象的斗争不会在一夜之间就大功告成。（财富中文网）

    译者：严匡正 

    Remember that 1995 Alanis Morissette song, "Ironic?" Well, here's another unexpected situation to add to the singer's long list of ironies: Huawei, the Chinese telecom equipment maker that has been blocked from the U.S. market because of concerns about its alleged ties to China's government, is now pushing for global cybersecurity standards.

    The company has tried, unsuccessfully, to bid for several contracts in the U.S. But it's been shut out of the market because of government worries that letting it provide building blocks for key infrastructure would leave American networks susceptible to cyber-espionage. In response, Huawei has embarked on an immense lobbying and PR campaign that aims to prove its products don't pose a threat to U.S. networks. It has tried to make nice with corporate America by committing to shelling out more than $6 billion on processors and other components from Broadcom (BRCM), Qualcomm (QCOM), and other local companies. It has attempted to win the public's trust by showing more transparency from its leadership (including a recentFortune interview with Guo Ping, acting CEO of the company). Now, in an effort to recast its image, it is also pushing for international players to collaborate on a set of security standards. The chief security officer for Huawei's U.S. operations, Andy Purdy, says, "It may seem counterintuitive, but I joined [the company] to help make global infrastructure more secure."

    This week Huawei published a white paper advocating a wide set of security standards. In a forward to the report, Huawei's deputy chairman, Ken Hu, also sought to allay fears about the company. "We can confirm that we have never received any instructions or requests from any Government or their agencies to change our positions, policies, procedures, hardware, software or employment practices or anything else, other than suggestions to improve our end-to-end cyber security capability," Hu wrote. "We can confirm that we have never been asked to provide access to our technology, or provide any data or information on any citizen or organization to any Government, or their agencies."

    The white paper, titled "Cyber Security Perspectives," calls on corporations and regulators to work together on setting global cybersecurity standards. To that end, Huawei has shared some of its own best practices and will soon release a list of 100 cybersecurity-related questions most frequently asked by its customers.

    It's not clear how serious Huawei is on leading some kind of global security framework, or what steps it will take after publishing the white paper. But it's clear that Huawei is intent on entering the U.S. market one way or another.

    Last spring several Huawei executives implied that the company was no longer interested in selling its wares in the U.S. That is not the case, says company spokesman William Plummer, who claims Huawei is the victim of unfair discrimination and protectionism in the U.S. The company had $35 billion in revenue last year but has insignificant share in the lucrative U.S. wireless market (while it's virtually banned from competing for network gear bids, it also sells handsets and various services). What's more, it still lacks brand recognition outside of its struggles with regulators.

    That said, Huawei is patient, strategic, and deep-pocketed. While it's unlikely a white paper will swing the public's favor to Huawei's side, the company realizes that its political and public image battles won't be won overnight.