Canada needs to focus much more vigilantly on strengthening the security of its 5G wireless network after banning Huawei and ZTE, experts warn, as the country lags far behind in terms of cybersecurity.
Thursday’s announcement that Canada will ban Chinese telecoms giants from the network came with a promise of swift legislation to protect critical infrastructure from cyberattacks. This legislation should come with regulations and forward-looking actions that bans do not address, researchers say.
“Just removing Huawei won’t fix everything,” said Christopher Parsons, a cybersecurity researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizens’ Laboratory.
“It will certainly deal with certain types of concerns … but it will not deal with this wider range of threats that are real or emerging.
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Although 5G is charged as more secure, networks consist of many more connection points and devices than previous networks, including the now standard 4G.
This has prompted experts – including Tom Wheeler, former chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission and 5G champion – to warn that the technology has more opportunities for malicious actors to take advantage of.
The network is also managed by software, unlike centralized hardware, which makes it more difficult to maintain security controls at critical points.
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Parsons says many of the security standards that exist for 5G are currently optional rather than mandatory for the installation of private telecommunications companies, making the need for additional regulation and incentives crucial.
“At least the government has not come out so far and has not said that these elements of the standards need to be adopted or integrated,” he said.
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“At the same time, there are concerns that we may not see full activation of these properties because they may increase the challenge of network management. … There is usually a push to eliminate this complexity, which can also slightly reduce costs, and one way to do that is to make these controls optional. ”
Much of Canada’s existing 5G network is currently being built as an extension of the existing 4G network, and Parsons believes it may be years before 5G becomes nationwide.
He says the government should use this time to work with cybersecurity researchers to identify emerging threats to 5G that may not yet be known.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that his government was working closely with major financial institutions as well as other companies across the country to protect vital networks from malicious attackers.
The Liberal government made it clear this week that the long-awaited decision to ban Huawei and ZTE is just the first step in an era of ongoing cyber attacks, ransom operations and criminal hacker and state-sponsored players stealing information or sabotaging key infrastructure. .
Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino said on Thursday that the government would introduce legislation to protect critical infrastructure in the financial, telecommunications, energy and transport sectors.
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In addition, Mendicino’s mandate letter from the Prime Minister urged him to step up his efforts to identify security risks in foreign research and investment partnerships, in part by increasing the resources of the RCMP and the Security Agency to that end.
4:41 Canada bans Chinese Huawei, ZTE from 5G networks Canada bans Chinese Huawei, ZTE from 5G networks
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated on Friday his government’s commitment to “do more” to protect critical industries.
The latest federal budget provides $ 875 million over five years and $ 238.2 million for cybersecurity measures, including programs in the Communications Security Establishment, Canada’s e-spy service, and more robust protection for small federal departments, agencies, and corporations. of Crown.
Fen Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carlton University, told Canadian Press that Canada “needs to do much more” to help protect the “hidden wiring” of the economy, much of which is in private hands. .
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“I don’t think the short answer is no,” he said when asked if Canada was prepared for a major cyber attack. “I mean, yes, we’re getting better at it. But not only can we thwart and deter these attacks, but how resilient are we?
The Office of Communications Security (CSE) said in December that more than half of Canadian ransomware victims last year were in critical sectors such as healthcare, energy and manufacturing.
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Ransomware attacks rose 151 percent in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cybersecurity agency said in a report as remote work skyrocketed and critical operations became virtual.
The average cost of recovering from such attacks has risen even more dramatically, from $ 970,000 in 2020 to $ 2.3 million in 2021, the agency said.
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Parsons hopes the government’s forthcoming legislation to address these concerns will include incentives to help companies increase their security protocols, warning that the cost of leaving them out of their networks will be much higher.
He also wants to ensure that every bill is “clean” and not used to introduce more opportunities for law enforcement to monitor online activity, an area that can also be used by malicious participants.
Above all, he does not want the legislation to be aimed only at China.
“We need to make it clear to China and the world that Canada is taking a principled approach to security,” he said.
– with files from Canadian Press
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