A report by the UK government into Huaweis broadband and mobile infrastructure has heavily criticised the Chinese firms engineering processes, saying that it has “only limited assurance” that the firms products pose no threat to national security.

The verdict comes from the fourth annual report by the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) Oversight Board, which was set up in 2010 in respose to concerns that use of the firms equipment by companies including BT could pose a threat to the UKs cybersecurity. The body is overseen by UK security officials, including ones from GCHQ, and the report is delivered to the UKs National Security Adviser.

Huawei is the worlds largest producer of telecoms equipment, and is a major supplier of both mobile and broadband network technology in the UK. Despite the firms size, the latest report found that shortcomings in its engineering processes “have exposed new risks in UK telecoms networks” which would require “significant work” to repair.

“We are grateful for this feedback and are committed to addressing these issues,” said a spokesperson for Huawei. “Cybersecurity remains Huaweis top priority, and we will continue to actively improve our engineering processes and risk management systems.” The firm also acknowledged that there were “some areas for improvement” in its network equipment.

The report also stated that the board was disappointed at the lack of progress Huawei had made in tackling previously identified problems, and highlighted that a visit to one of the companys facilities in Shenzhen in 2017 had revealed that the firm was failing to maintain proper oversight of third-party components.

“[It was] identified that not all components are managed through this process and, in particular, security critical third-party software used in a variety of products was not subject to sufficient control,” said the report.

The report comes as the US government is increasing its efforts to ban Huaweis equipment from its countrys mobile and broadband networks. Australia is also considering banning the firm from becoming involved in the deployment of 5G in the country, over concerns that the Chinese government could force the company to hand over sensitive data.