CSE defends network security as Tories press on Huawei concerns

OTTAWA -- Officials from Canada’s cyber-spy agency defended the security of Canada’s telecommunications systems and allowing Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd equipment to operate on them, as MPs pressed whether Canada should follow other Five Eyes allies and restrict the Chinese company’s technology. Communications Security Establishment (CSE) officials insisted Thursday afternoon that taking a "holistic" approach to ensuring security across “heterogeneous networks” is more important than the particular devices vendors are selling, comments that come amid an emerging political discussion over whether the company should be banned from building next generation networks in Canada. Later, in a follow-up interview, the officials added taking that kind of approach to network security is more “sustainable” than making a “very easy” move like a blanket ban – and that they’ve been reassuring Five Eyes allies Canada’s networks are secure. "When we're talking specifically about 5G, the best security outcome …is really an environment with multiple vendors where you can put different security protocols in at different layers," Scott Jones, the CSE’s deputy chief of information technology security, told the House of Commons public safety and national security committee. “5G doesn't really exist yet, so it’s how do we start to bake these things in through some cyber security pieces? I think the biggest thing for us is you don't want one vendor and only one vendor because that makes you vulnerable across your spectrum.” That defence came after MPs pressed and prodded on whether Canada could be on the outs as other Five Eyes countries restrict or ban Huawei devices. Conservative MP Glen Motz asked if Canada has “an obligation to follow suit" as allies come out against the company over national security concerns. “Many people are wondering why Canada would not,” he said. “Them operating within Canada could obviously create some breaches in privacy that could impact our Five Eyes network.” Tory MP Pierre Paul-Hus asked if Canada could hurt its relationship with its counterparts should they take a unified stance against Chinese telecom companies while Canada stands by them. "There's no written definition of what the Five Eyes is ... it's a confidence-based agreement," he said in French. “It’s sort of a breach of confidence with our partners.” In July, a UK government report gained attention when it warned it has “only limited assurance that all risks to UK national security from Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s critical networks have been sufficiently mitigated.” Then in August, Huawei Australia announced on Twitter that Australia is banning the company, along with its rival, Chinese-based ZTE Corp., from selling 5G technology. The U.S. also recently prohibited government agencies from procuring certain Huawei or ZTE products, when the National Defense Authorisation Act was signed into law in August. Jones told the committee the CSE is working to ensure Canadian networks are “resilient, regardless of product origin" and that the supply chain is “adequately protected." Following the committee meeting, Jones told The Wire Report that layering defences across communications infrastructure is more “sustainable” and “holistic” than taking a “very easy” approach like banning the technology outright. “It’s not really about the product,” he emphasized. He said Canada has been, behind-the-scenes, reassuring its allies that its networks are secure. “What we spent some time doing is actually helping our Five Eyes partners to understand our program and how comprehensive it is in terms of the risk mitigation, the pro-activeness of it,” he said. “Now, that doesn’t necessarily translate into wide knowledge of that, so that’s always a challenge for us. But frankly, I’m quite proud of the program we’ve set up and the collaborative work we’ve done with our telcos to address these threats.” Huawei has become something of a political football in Canadian politics as other Five Eyes countries raise alarm and take actions reigning in its scope of operations. The CSE recently acknowledged it has been running tests on Huawei’s equipment, and The Globe and Mail reported earlier this week that the federal government has been conducting a national security review on cyber threats posed from foreign-owned companies’ telecom equipment. BCE Inc. CEO George Cope told a conference last week that Bell has had Huawei as a supplier for years, and has been “very cognizant of some of the issues, and those are managed appropriately.” — With reporting by Kyle Duggan at kduggan@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

CSE defends network security as Tories press on Huawei concerns

News | September 20, 2018

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CSE defends network security as Tories press on Huawei concerns

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