Canada's use of Huawei 5G would hamper its access to U.S. intelligence: U.S. official

[rooster59]

Canada's use of Huawei 5G would hamper its access to U.S. intelligence: U.S. official

By Steve Scherer

 

FILE PHOTO: An attendee wears a badge strip with the logo of Huawei and a sign for 5G at the World 5G Exhibition in Beijing, China November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo

 

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (Reuters) - The U.S. national security adviser urged Canada on Saturday not to use Huawei 5G technology, saying that doing so would put in jeopardy intelligence sharing with the United States and expose Canadians to being profiled by the Chinese government.

 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau postponed a decision on whether to use Huawei Technologies Co Ltd <HWT.UL> 5G network equipment until after the October federal election. He has not commented on the issue since winning the Oct. 21 vote.

 

Intelligence sharing "would be impacted if our close allies let the Trojan horse into the city," national security adviser Robert O'Brien told reporters at a security conference in Halifax.

 

"When they (the Chinese) get Huawei into Canada or into other Western countries, they're going to know every health record, every banking record, every social media post, they're going to know everything about every single Canadian," he said.

 

The question of whether Huawei's 5G equipment could contain back doors allowing access to Chinese spying is dividing Canada and its partners in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network.

 

The United States, Australia and New Zealand have bans in place, while Britain is taking a less firm line, indicating Huawei's 5G products could be used in less sensitive areas.

 

"We are going to take our time so that we can appropriately examine all potential threats," Canada's Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan, who is also in Halifax, said.

 

"We have been extremely mindful in protecting our current 4G technology and the decisions that we make regarding 5G will make sure that these systems are as strong as our current system, if not stronger," he said.

 

Canada has been caught in the middle of the U.S.-China dispute over Huawei since Canadian police arrested Huawei's chief financial officer on a U.S. warrant in December, a move condemned by China.

 

Beijing subsequently picked up two Canadian men in China, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, and charged them with spying. They are still being held.

 

The detention of the two men as "leverage ... shouldn't be allowed to stand," O'Brien said.

 

U.S. Senator Angus King, who also spoke in Halifax, echoed O'Brien's concerns.

 

"It would make it very difficult to have a full intelligence sharing information with a partner who has installed a direct line to Beijing," King said.

 

(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Sandra Maler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-24

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[Estrada]

Only the U.S. is allowed to spy on other countries.

 

 

[NanLaew]

Instead of spouting the old '"don't buy Chinese or we'll make you sorry" mantra, why doesn't that flagship of cutting-edge communications technology, the good ol' USA offer the Canuks their own, bespoke, hyper-secure, fast and uber-reliable MA5GA alternative? You know, the flip-style one with LCD display and the battery the size of Idaho that Motorola and AT&T have been cooking up for decades? I mean 146 million Verizon subscribers can't be wrong, eh?

[Sakeopete]

But but the USA does it! That argument gets tiring sure they may do it but unless you are a complete moron the Chinese  threat from its totalitarian mafia leadership who openly violates IP and has state run and sponsored industrial espionage should put this argument to rest. 

[Isaan sailor]

Not just about ChiCom spying (which is proven).  More about long term health risks of 5G.  Early data on effects quite unsettling.

[Krataiboy]

Should the UK implement the Johnson plan to roll out 5G with Huawei at the helm, we would doubtless run into the same intelligence-sharing problem as Canada. 

 

This is one just one good reason to prefer the Corbyn strategy for linking every home to the Internet via fibre optic cable via British Telecom. There are other good reasons, too. 

 

The use of cable instead of wireless to deliver broadband services would avoid ramping up the well-documented health risks associated with EMF exposure from existing 2, 3 and 4G radiation.

 

Scientists, medical experts and environmentalists around the world are becoming increasingly concerned about humans used as guinea pigs for an untried and untested system. They are joining a growing chorus of protest, demanding a halt tot he 5G rollout until the technology is proved safe.  

 

Labour's plan is also a fashionably "green" initiative for a nation which recently declared an official climate emergency. It would save thousands of CO2-absorbing street trees from being felled and replaced by forests of metal masts and other unsightly 5G equipment.

 

What's not to vote for?

[Chelseafan]

51 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

What's not to vote for?

A lot ! !

[jany123]

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

"When they (the Chinese) get Huawei into Canada or into other Western countries, they're going to know every health record, every banking record, every social media post, they're going to know everything about every single Canadian," he said.

Lmao.... with the big tech companies already sharing this information, coupled with malware and other scams, this information is already accessible.

 

the Russian were asked for cyber information by the worst president in history, and they were only to pleased to assist him.

 

to keep this information private, a lot more needs doing by the big American companies in the form of data protection, as is being done in Europe. But no... it’s the Chinese... Americans are free and don’t need more regulation.... pssst.

[Krataiboy]

1 hour ago, Chelseafan said:

A lot ! !

I was referring to this particular aspect of the Labour manifesto, not the rest.

[Banana7]

Of the G7/8 countries, Canada has the most stupid government intelligence agencies. Alternatively the agency participants are already being paid by the Chinese, to recommend Huawei equipment for infrastructure.

 

The Chinese even hijacked a Canadian satellite to send data to Beijing and the agencies, didn't even suspect, or do anything about, until 3 days after the event.

[MeePeeMai]

That would mean that those citizens of the USA with a prior DUI offense (or DWI as it is called in some areas) would then be able to visit Canada, whereas right now they are banned from entering Canada (even for a short visit).  If 5G would hamper their ability to access US intel then the Canadian Immigration would no longer have access to that database.

 

I'm sure that many would welcome such an event.

[sirineou]

7 hours ago, Sakeopete said:

But but the USA does it! That argument gets tiring sure they may do it but unless you are a complete moron the Chinese  threat from its totalitarian mafia leadership who openly violates IP and has state run and sponsored industrial espionage should put this argument to rest. 

Exactly right

What is at stake here is which system will dominate the world.

I am no fan of US political policy, but I would rather live under a US led system than a Chinese one.

Which system would all those who for good reasons criticize the US would rather live under? A US system or a Chinese system? People in Hong Kong have spoken,time for the rest of as to speak also. 

Beware of Chinese baring gifts. 

[sirineou]

It has being said that indians sold Manhattan to the Dutch  for a   for a bunch of trinkets and beads. 

Now it looks like we are willing to do the same to our democracy with the Chinese.

[metisdead]

Troll posts and the replies have been removed. 

[from the home of CC]

3 hours ago, MeePeeMai said:

That would mean that those citizens of the USA with a prior DUI offense (or DWI as it is called in some areas) would then be able to visit Canada, whereas right now they are banned from entering Canada (even for a short visit).  If 5G would hamper their ability to access US intel then the Canadian Immigration would no longer have access to that database.

 

I'm sure that many would welcome such an event.

what? to let a bunch of convicted drunk drivers into Canada lol. No, I believe the threat issued concerns more of intelligence of an international flavor, like terrorists attacks and conspiracy from abroad. imo shared border intelligence would continue unabated for it's directly in both countries favor to do so..

[NanLaew]

8 hours ago, Isaan sailor said:

Not just about ChiCom spying (which is proven).  More about long term health risks of 5G.  Early data on effects quite unsettling.

Scaremongering. 5G uses the same non-ionizing frequency spectrum as 4G and transmission antenna power levels will be lower than 4G.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48616174

[bristolboy]

Here's what's really bad about 5G

New deal won’t prevent 5G communication networks from interfering with weather forecasts

 

Delegates at an international conference yesterday approved a standard for electronic noise emitted by 5G, the next-generation wireless communication technology, that will result in interference with weather-forecasting observations from space, meteorologists say.

The decision at the United Nations’s World Radiocommunication Conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, restricts the noise from 5G emissions from to –33 decibel watts (dBW) outside of the 24-gigahertz communications band. After 8 years, the limit would be tightened to –39 dBW, on the assumption that 5G will not be widely deployed until that time.

The standard, although in line with European recommendations, is less stringent than the –55-dBW standard sought by the World Meteorological Organization to avoid conflicts with the neighboring frequency used by satellites to collect crucial data about humidity. 

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/11/new-deal-won-t-prevent-5g-communication-networks-interfering-weather-forecasts

[The Old Bull]

8 hours ago, jany123 said:

Lmao.... with the big tech companies already sharing this information, coupled with malware and other scams, this information is already accessible.

 

the Russian were asked for cyber information by the worst president in history, and they were only to pleased to assist him.

 

to keep this information private, a lot more needs doing by the big American companies in the form of data protection, as is being done in Europe. But no... it’s the Chinese... Americans are free and don’t need more regulation.... pssst.

Americans are not free they put more people in jail than any other country.

[The Old Bull]

2 hours ago, sirineou said:

It has being said that indians sold Manhattan to the Dutch  for a   for a bunch of trinkets and beads. 

Now it looks like we are willing to do the same to our democracy with the Chinese.

US democracy is overrated look what it spewed out for a president

[sirineou]

7 minutes ago, The Old Bull said:

US democracy is overrated look what it spewed out for a president

I agree, but consider the alternative. 

[jany123]

38 minutes ago, The Old Bull said:

Americans are not free they put more people in jail than any other country.

You must have missed the sarcasm bit.

 

 

[Chelseafan]

2 hours ago, The Old Bull said:

US democracy is overrated look what it spewed out for a president

As Churchill said, democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.