All right, Mr. Chair.
The most striking example for Canadians is no doubt the theft of manufacturing patents, strategic plans and other intellectual property from Nortel between 2000 and 2009.
The strategic information was passed from the MSS to engineers at Huawei, as Nortel executives in Canada ignored RCMP and CSIS warnings.
Unit 61398 of the People's Liberation Army was responsible for what happened at Nortel and went on to do the same elsewhere in the world, including in Calgary; in 2012, the unit breached Telvent's networks and stole the industrial control system manufacturer's source code. The company's software is used to control electricity grids, water systems, subway and other public transit systems, and most of North America's oil and gas pipelines. Now, more than ever, our critical infrastructure is at risk.
I should also mention the spectacular data breach at the National Research Council's Ottawa and London offices in 2014. The agency's IT network was hacked and basic research on quantum cybersecurity was stolen.
The National Counterintelligence and Security Center in the United States is now warning against the unwarranted and abusive collection of DNA data by Chinese pharmaceutical companies.
What can we do?
Unlike some of its friends and allies, Canada has yet to make the strategic decision to rule out Huawei as a business partner and competitor in building the country's 5G network. The current government has put off saying whether it sides with its allies or Huawei.
On Friday, April 16, Quebec government officials expressed their desire to do business with Chinese companies like Huawei, without conducting a threat and risk assessment.
A statement like that clearly shows just how unaware our leaders are of the cybersecurity risks, as economic considerations seem to be all that matter. A major telecommunications company in the Netherlands learned the hard way that it wasn't as informed as it should have been on the subject. In fact, thanks to the company's networks, China was able to eavesdrop on the Dutch prime minister's conversations beginning in 2010.
In its dispute with India, China also recently demonstrated its ability to hack into an electricity grid in the Himalayan region.
Do Canada and its neighbour to the south have the capacity to detect and stop a similar breach, before Chinese hackers gain control of electricity grids to launch a cyber-attack along the lines of the 2003 blackout?
We are in a cyberwar. This is information warfare.
We need to improve what is not working and support initiatives that will help the various stakeholders contribute to a better quality of life, in both the physical and digital realms. We can then regain our position as the global economic leaders we inherently are.
I would be happy to answer your questions in both official languages.