Gov’t should encourage Canadian 5G equipment: Public Safety notes

Amid security reviews of Canada’s 5G infrastructure lays an ‘opportunity’ for Canadian companies to enter the space and for the government to incentivize that emergence, according to briefing notes for Public Safety. The notes were prepared for the department ahead of a meeting last August in Australia between members of the five-country intelligence alliance, known as Five Eyes, which is made up of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The notes, which were obtained recently by The Wire Report through an Access to Information request, said under the heading “Threat from Foreign Vendors” that Canada “recognizes the risks associated with foreign equipment (4G and 5G) being deployed in Canadian telecommunications infrastructure,” including products built with backdoors to allow access to networks to disrupt systems, steal data and spy on businesses. It added in a section called “Opportunity for the Government of Canada” that “there is an opportunity for Canadian companies to enter this space, creating and deploying competitive products that support the new 5G ecosystem. The document didn’t specify what Canadian companies might benefit from this opportunity. “The government has an important role to play in this regard, promoting an environment that incentivizes strong cyber security practices, while fostering innovation, encouraging , and protecting the sovereignty of academic research and intellectual property.” While doing so would create “significant” economic benefits, the notes add it would also “help ensure the delivery of a secure and trusted source of telecommunications services to Canadians.” The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) works with the telecoms, vendors and manufacturers to reduce threat risks. Late last year, the government launched the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, which centralizes and addresses cybersecurity threats. The government has been conducting security reviews of 5G technology and a supplier of that technology, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., which has been under intense scrutiny and pressure from intelligence agencies and governments around the world because of its alleged shadowy ties with the Chinese government. Huawei, the world’s largest telecom equipment maker, has already established itself in Canada: its technology is used in existing telecommunications infrastructure, it has conducted numerous tests for 5G with providers here, funded academic research and it is involved in tech development. It recently upped investments in Canada, despite the ongoing security review and the threat of a ban, and has hired fresh lobbyists to carry its message to Parliament Hill. Earlier this year, analysts said the likelihood of a Huawei ban has increased, while a Bloomberg report cited security experts as saying that the Shenzhen-based company will likely be given the boot. The United States, Australia, and New Zealand have already put in place rules limiting the use of Huawei equipment. Without Huawei in the picture, there are two major European suppliers of 5G network equipment: Sweden-based Ericsson AB and Finland-based Nokia Corp. Some of the country’s biggest telecom players have chosen either one of those European players, while telcos BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. have previously said they have yet to select a 5G vendor despite having previously worked with the Chinese company. Another potential foreign player in the mix could be Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. The Wire Report revealed in February that the South Korean company is stepping up its 5G public relations game. According to the briefing notes, Public Safety said 5G “represents a paradigm shift in mobile communications,” and is estimated to “enable a total of one million devices per square kilometer to be connected, while not reducing quality of service, thus greatly facilitating the roll out of Internet of Things (IoT) devices.” 5G will add “significant potential for social and economic benefit” and the North American economy is expected to see an increase to more than $1 trillion by 2020 from the mobile ecosystem -- nearly five per cent of the region’s GDP, it adds. Last June, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains announced auctions for spectrum that will drive the new networks: the 600 MHz in 2019, the 3500 MHz in 2020, and the 1 GHz of millimetre wave spectrum in 2021. “Policy, legislation and partnerships are required to effectively enable the adoption and deployment of this technology, and to address the associated risks,” the notes read. The nearly 100-page, partially-redacted document lays out talking points on various other issues, including encryption, threats to democracy, online disinformation, and border security. It was widely reported by various news outlets that the meeting in August included a demand that technology companies reduce barriers to lawful access to data for investigations or face possible measures that would allow law enforcement to get around their encryption tools. Acknowledging the challenge, the notes reiterate a position on the benefits of encryption. “While encryption poses serious challenges for investigators in Canada, it is also in Canada’s interest that encryption technologies remain robust and widely-used in order to safeguard cyber security and the digital economy.” — With reporting by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Gov’t should encourage Canadian 5G equipment: Public Safety notes

News | April 1, 2019

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Gov’t should encourage Canadian 5G equipment: Public Safety notes

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