COVID-19 prompts purchase of new medical transportation system for RCAF aircraft

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  January 8, 2021 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

  Poor IT support hurting Canadian military operations, internal review finds

  Lee Berthiaume The Canadian Press OTTAWA -- An internal Defence Department report has warned that Canadian Armed Forces operations and security may be at risk due to major problems with how the military's computer networks are built and supported. The report follows a review of the Defence Department's information management and technology systems, which are described as "critical" to the success of Canadian military operations and training. That review uncovered a patchwork of IT systems across the Defence Department and Armed Forces that was not only inefficient and expensive to maintain, but also often out-of-date and poorly supported. The brunt of the report's criticism is directed at the technical support provided to the military by another federal entity, Shared Services Canada, the agency that took over management of most federal networks in August 2011. Nearly all defence and military officials who participated in the review were upset by the amount of time it took Shared Services to respond to requests for help, according to the report. In some instances, those delays harmed operations. The report cited one instance in which an email server that went down during an unspecified domestic mission couldn't be fixed right away because it was a weekend and Shared Services did not have staff on call. The reviewers also found that a quarter of requests for assistance made to Shared Services remained unresolved after six months, and the agency did not have anybody in Europe to help the hundreds of Canadian troops posted there. While the problems were partly attributed to a lack of appropriate IT resources and staff, the report also flagged the lack of an agreement between the Defence Department and Shared Services establishing clear expectations for network support. Without such an agreement, the report, defence and military officials believed Shared Services not only didn't understand their needs but also wasn't required to respond quickly, "which led to putting clients at great risk on a number of fronts, including security." Delays in tech support weren't the only point of contention between the Defence Department and Shared Services, with the latter upsetting the navy by requiring the removal of equipment that had increased bandwidth on warships. Shared Services also stopped supporting some older intelligence systems while they were still being used by the air force, army and navy, according to the report recently published on the Defence Department website. Defence Department spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier on Monday described the review as a "valuable tool" for improving IT support even as he defended the department's relationship with Shared Services Canada. "We have a good working relationship with Shared Services Canada and the two departments continue to work collaboratively to ensure the appropriate and timely delivery of IT services to DND/CAF," he said. "We are also reviewing our relationship with Shared Services Canada with a focus on improving the service delivery model to help better support the department and the Canadian Armed Forces." The internal report also took aim at the military's troubled procurement system, which was found to deliver IT equipment with inadequate or out-of-date technology. Poor planning was partly to blame but the report also blamed onerous levels of oversight. While that oversight was described as the result of cost overruns and delays on past IT projects, the report said that it nonetheless created new problems in delivering modern equipment. "The complex processes associated with the capital projects and procurement are very slow and cumbersome," according to the report. "The process cannot keep up with the rate of change of technology." Those delays -- and their potential impact on operations -- were also cited as a major reason for why a patchwork of IT systems and programs now cover different parts of the Defence Department and military. While that patchwork might serve the day-to-day needs of the military, it was also found to be inefficient and expensive. To that end, the reviewers could not pinpoint exactly how much was being spent by the Defence Department and military on IT services and support every year, but estimated it at more than $700 million. In response to the report, senior officials told reviewers that they were looking at ways to better calculate annual spending on IT and address the problems that have contributed to the creation of so many systems in the first place. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 4, 2021. https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/poor-it-support-hurting-canadian-military-operations-internal-review-finds-1.5253148

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  July 9, 2018 | Local, Land

  What is 'the backbone' of the Canadian Army doing in a junk yard?

  Colin Butler Even an expert in armoured fighting vehicles thinks it's a strange place to find what the Canadian Army calls "the backbone" of its combat vehicle fleet. "I'm surprised that vehicles of this importance and significance are being stored in a conventional steel breaker's yard," said Jon Hawkes, the Land Management Editor for military information publisher Jane's Information Group. "Typically they'd be in a military facility of some kind, even if it's sort of, you know, popped out in the back out of the way in the contractors own facility." "For them to be in this breaker's yard is not where I would expect them to be." "Them," in this case are the LAV III, the workhorse of the Canadian Army. You've likely seen them on television, either helping Canadians stricken by some natural disaster, such as the 2013 floods in Alberta, last year's floods in Quebec, or, maybe overseas, carrying our troops into hot zones in such places as Afghanistan and more recently Mali. What are these LAV IIIs doing in a junk yard? So what on Earth are they doing in the back lot of a junk yard? "I think it's interesting," John Hawke said. "You could read that two ways." "On one hand, these things are being quasi-dumped in a corner somewhere to be dealt with later and perhaps that's not caring for them in the best possible way. Although as I say, they're very hardy vehicles. I wouldn't necessarily fear for their status." "Alternatively you could say that someone somewhere is actually being quite smart in finding a very cost-effective solution for storing them for a period of time. I'd imagine it's not hugely expensive to put them wherever this is." Secretive contractors Except, no one working with these LAVs is willing to talk. CBC News first attempted to visit the site in person, but was told to leave the property by staff at the scrap yard. When contacted by phone, Matt Zubick, a member of the family that owns John Zubick's Limited said "I can't talk about that" before he hung up. Steph Bryson, a spokeswoman for General Dynamics Land Systems Canada, declined to comment, referring the question to the Department of National Defence. So why all the secrecy? No secret at all "I find that a bit amusing," said Daniel Le Bouthillier, the head of media relations for the Department of National Defence. "From our perspective, the work is hardly a secret." It turns out the work inside John Zubick's Limited has been happening for the better part of a decade. After Canadian troops deployed in Afghanistan, they quickly realized the army's fleet of LAV IIIs, which they've had since 1997, needed a few tweaks to give soldiers better protection against the Taliban insurgency. Those tweaks involved better armour, blast absorbing seats and other upgrades. However, the LAV IIIs were never designed to handle the extra weight, according to Le Bouthillier. "This additional weight meant more wear and tear and affected the vehicles' what they call 'full mobility potential.' So these upgrades that are happening now address all those issues." The upgrades are being done by London, Ont.-based military manufacturer General Dynamics Land Systems Canada as part of a $1.8 billion refitting and refurbishment program with the Canadian Armed Forces called LAVIIIUP, a deal that was first struck in 2010. The program will see all 550 Canadian-made LAV IIIs, getting new armour and new hulls in order to extend the life of the vehicles until the year 2035. "As part of that process, LAV III hulls, which were not designed to support the weight of upgrades are being sent to a scrap yard, taken apart and melted and this is done because these are considered controlled goods," Le Bouthillier said. "So what you're seeing in that scrap yard are parts that are not being harvested for the upgrades," he said. "These are not drive-in, drive-out full capability vehicles. These are just parts of them. They might look like full vehicles because they're so big. Especially when you look at them from above." The first batch of upgraded LAV IIIs were delivered to the military in 2012, with the delivery of the final batch expected next December. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/london-ontario-lav-1.4734920

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  April 25, 2019 | Local, Security

  AU CANADA, LES POLICIERS VONT UTILISER LES RÉSEAUX SOCIAUX POUR PRÉDIRE LES DISPARITIONS AVANT QU’ELLES NE SE PRODUISENT

  Avec une base de données suffisante et une intelligence artificielle, il est parfois possible d'anticiper certains incidents. Certaines plateformes, comme Facebook, travaillent sur des algorithmes permettant de repérer les adolescents suicidaires et d'intervenir dans le cas où ils risquent de passer à l'acte. Au Canada, les forces de l'ordre vont utiliser des modèles prédictifs pour prédire les disparitions avant qu'elles n'aient lieu. Selon un rapport du gouvernement, les modèles prédictifs seront basés sur des publications sur les réseaux sociaux, les dossiers de la police et les services sociaux. Les algorithmes se référeront à une dizaine de facteurs de risques communs, comme des antécédents de fugue ou de violence à la maison, afin d'identifier les personnes susceptibles de disparition. L'initiative fait toutefois l'objet de nombre de critiques. Certains experts pensent que l'utilisation de modèles prédictifs à cette fin pourrait conduire à de faux positifs. Le type d'informations à utiliser n'a pas été dévoilé Le document a été publié le mois dernier par la RDDC (Defence Research and Development Canada), une agence rattachée au ministère de la Défense nationale. Selon le rapport, la conception des modèles prédictifs sera assurée par SPPAL (Saskatchewan Police Predictive Analytics Lab). Ce laboratoire est le fruit d'un partenariat entre la police, le ministère provincial de la Justice et l'Université de la Saskatchewan. La police canadienne utilise déjà les réseaux sociaux pour repérer des cas d'infraction, trouver des suspects et résoudre des enquêtes. Toutefois, le rapport n'indique pas les types d'informations qui seront recueillies sur les médias sociaux. Des risques de faux positifs Tamir Israel est avocat à CIPPIC (Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic). Il a reconnu que les modèles prédictifs de SPPAL pourraient être utilisés pour trier les cas suspects selon leur ordre de priorité. Il est en effet nécessaire de distinguer, par exemple, une éventuelle victime d'enlèvement d'une fugueuse habituelle. « Les forces de l'ordre seront invitées à s'appuyer sur les résultats du modèle prédictif » pour décider de la sérieuse prise en charge d'un cas de personne disparue », a-t-il déclaré à Motherbord. Toutefois, il a souligné que ces modèles prédictifs sont souvent opaques dans leur fonctionnement, en s'appuyant sur des facteurs que les policiers eux-mêmes ne peuvent pas évaluer ou deviner. Il a noté que les informations sur les réseaux sociaux ne sont pas toujours fiables et augmentent les risques de faux positifs. Il a également noté que cette méthode pourrait conduire à des résultats faussés lorsque les modèles sont appliqués à des groupes minoritaires. Il craint qu'ils ne fassent pas de différences entre les cultures. « Nous savons que les modèles prédictifs sont loin d'être infaillibles dans des situations réelles et qu'il y aura des faux positifs », a-t-il rappelé. « Les conséquences d'une intervention basée sur un faux positif peuvent être très graves. » http://www.fredzone.org/au-canada-les-policiers-vont-utiliser-les-reseaux-sociaux-pour-predire-les-disparitions-avant-quelles-ne-se-produisent-998 http://cradpdf.drdc-rddc.gc.ca/PDFS/unc335/p809812_A1b.pdf