The U.S. fears Huawei is a cybersecurity threat. Canada is still unsure
(The Star Food)

Olivera Zatezalo has, arguably, the toughest job of any cybersecurity officer in Canada. She has to convince the government and Canadians that the products her company builds are safe. But that’s been increasingly difficult as she finds herself squarely in the middle of a high stakes international battle involving China, the United States and Canada. So she chooses her words carefully when asked how difficult would it be for the Chinese government to hack into the next generation wireless network and spy on Canadians using Huawei supplied equipment?According to the telecom giant’s Canadian chief of cybersecurity, regulatory safeguards mean that such a scenario would be difficult, if not impossible since the Shenzen, China-based company would not be able to access information distributed by their own technology. “Once we sell the equipment to carriers, we no longer have control over it,” Zatezalo said in an interview with the Star. “We give the keys to carriers and we absolutely cannot see the data once it is deployed.”Read more:Huawei CFO’s ‘complex’ extradition request is just 33 pages longExtradition proceedings for Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou could wrap in 16 monthsHuawei pushes ahead with rural internet strategy in Canada despite controversyThe stakes for Canadians are significant. The United States says Huawei is a major security risk because the company has close ties to the Chinese government. The Canadian government is also reviewing whether to use the company’s 5G equipment, a transformative new technology that would create a much faster wireless network. And Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has already said he would block the company in Canada if elected prime minister in October.“I trust the Canadian government. They know absolutely what they are doing,” says Zatezalo. “I am absolutely confident that there is nothing that can be exploited. There are security controls in place a ...