Devices ‘no less important’ in Huawei debate: computing professor

OTTAWA — Debate about whether or not to ban Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. from Canada’s future 5G networks has focused largely on backbone infrastructure, but a professor of computer science said consumer devices are also part of the risk equation. “The threat from devices is qualitatively different but no less important,” David Skillicorn, a professor at Queen’s University and Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont., said in an email following testimony from colleague and professor Christian Leuprecht. Leuprecht, appearing Wednesday before the House national security committee, which recently opened a study on cybersecurity in the financial sector, called on the government to ban Huawei from the country’s next generation networks -- a decision on which the government said it’s “beyond weeks” away from making. But in his opening statement, Leuprecht noted that the “information infrastructure” has two parts that contain “inherent unfixable vulnerabilities”: the network switches that make up the internet backbone, which has received the bulk of attention, and the smartphones themselves. While the network switches reveal all the traffic that passes through it and can also act as a valve managing the flow of information, consumer devices must see processes and display information even when data is encrypted, giving device manufacturers an eye into the devices’ inputs and outputs, Leuprecht said. “A device cannot be prevented from seeing the interaction with its user, even if everything upstream is encrypted,” Skillicorn said in the email. “It has to see the key presses, it has to know what's shown on the display, and it has to see biometrics, like a fingerprint or voiceprint, on their way to the software that uses them.” “That means that the handset supplier can, in principle, know everything about the user's interaction with cyberspace,” he added. “It's an unavoidable man-in-the-middle attack scenario.” The comments come after an internal memo circulated inside BCE Inc., as reported by tech news site MobileSyrup, urged employees to tell customers there are “no concerns with Huawei smartphones.” Bell has previously stood by the controversial supplier. It is recognized that cheaper devices often have more security vulnerabilities, and it’s been reported Huawei undercuts other suppliers. Bell and Telus Corp. both have used Huawei equipment in their networks, and a similar memo inside the Vancouver-based company defended the use of Huawei equipment network. Bell and Huawei last year laid the foundation for new high-capacity fixed wireless infrastructure that uses 5G technology in smaller and underserved communities, while the Chinese corporation partnered with Telus on 5G tests. The United States, Australia and New Zealand -- members of the Five Eyes intelligence group, which includes Canada -- have restricted the use of Huawei equipment, as pressure builds on this country to follow suit. Conservative MPs, likewise, have been calling for the company’s banishment from the country's 5G networks. Top intelligence chiefs in the U.S., including the directors of the CIA, FBI and NSA, previously told a Senate committee they don't recommend Americans buy Huawei devices or services, CNBC reported. For its part, the Canadian government has initiated a security review to examine 5G technology. The backgrounder on a government webpage explaining the program, in place since 2013, is heavily focused on the network infrastructure, but not on handsets or devices. In 2012, citing national security, the Harper government said it would ban Huawei from bidding on building the government’s telecom and email network. A spokesperson for public safety minister Ralph Goodale did not respond directly on Thursday to a question about whether the security review will give equal weight to potential security risks in devices. The spokesperson, however, noted that the government is “carefully assessing the security challenges and potential threats involved in future 5G technology, while recognizing the potential this technology holds for Canadians.” A Globe and Mail/Nanos Research poll earlier this month found most Canadians would support a ban on Huawei from participating in its 5G technology. But, despite raising the alarm on devices, Leuprecht and Skillicorn did not explicitly call for a device ban. “The handset question is more difficult,” Skillicorn said, “because most are (at least partly) made in places that have issues, regardless of how they’re branded.” — With reporting by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Devices ‘no less important’ in Huawei debate: computing professor

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