Canada and the United States announced Friday they were launching a
joint cybsersecurity plan to protect their digital infrastructure from
online threats.
The action plan, under the auspices of the US
Department of Homeland Security and Public Safety Canada, aims to better
protect critical digital infrastructure and improve the response to
cyber incidents.
"Canada and the US have a mutual interest in
partnering to protect our shared infrastructure," said the Public Safety
Minister Vic Toews.
"We are committed to working together to
protect vital cyber systems, to respond to and recover from any cyber
disruptions and to make cyberspace safer for all our citizens."
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the plan "reinforces the robust relationship" between their two agencies.
Through
the plan, Washington and Ottawa hope to improve collaboration on
managing cyber incidents between their respective cyber security
operation centers, enhance information sharing and engagement with the
private sector and pursue US-Canadian collaboration to promote cyber
security awareness to the public.
The announcement came after the
US House Intelligence Committee warned earlier this month that equipment
supplied by Chinese telecoms groups Huawei and ZTE could be used for
spying and called for their exclusion from government contracts and
acquisitions.
Canada later invoked a "national security exception"
that could exclude China's Huawei Technologies from a role in helping
build its new super secure government network.