Tore Larsen Orderløkken says it has been a “challenging and educational” year for the Chinese electronics giant. He will now become Posten Norge’s new head of information security.

Tore Larsen Orderløkken started last spring as head of security at Huawei Norway.

He is now leaving the company, in favor of an “interesting and more operational position at Posten”, he tells E24.

– I received a good offer from Posten for a newly created position which I found very interesting. The position is slightly more operational than the one I hold at Huawei today. After taking the role at Huawei, the climate around the company changed somewhat, and that affected the evolution of the position, he says, adding that it functioned more as “a media contact.”

– This was a very difficult position, given that Huawei is in the difficult situation that the company is currently in. But it has also been enlightening to manage communication challenges and get to know the business from the inside. I saw how the company invested huge resources in security, says Orderløkken.

Digital reported the news first.

Crisis in the United States

Before Christmas, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, the company’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Canada on charges of fraud and violating sanctions against Iran. This arrest led to a diplomatic crisis between Canada, the United States and China.

US President Donald Trump deemed Huawei a security risk due to its ties to Chinese authorities and said its products would no longer be wanted in the United States.

This is due to fears that Chinese authorities could use Huawei products for espionage purposes.

Huawei itself has rejected this proposal and emphasizes that it is a private company.

– Hard to resist

The order loop indicates that the pressure situation has left its mark on the company and the people who work there. He says working at Huawei has been a two-part experience in recent months.

– On the one hand, you see a company that takes security seriously and does everything in its power to have good internal security. On the other side, you see claims and hints that the company is doing something that is not right. It is difficult to resist when allegations come over time, especially those regarding political conflict.

The command loop states that Huawei “is considered China, without considering that Huawei is a private, employee-owned company.” He points out that the company has locations and suppliers all over the world – on par with all current IT suppliers.

– Even if the facts are known and the company is not caught doing anything wrong, there is still suspicion. It’s a challenge to tackle this challenge in the right way, he says.

Orderløkken now moves to the position of Director of Information Security at Posten Norge.