‘Zero indication’ military spending will be cut amid COVID-19, defence official says

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  February 10, 2020 | Local, Naval

  Irving to receive $58 million for 'minimal' changes to new Coast Guard ships

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Irving is receiving $58 million from taxpayers to make what the federal government calls minimal changes to an existing ship design so it can be used by the Canadian Coast Guard. Irving is in the midst of building a fleet of six Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) for the Royal Canadian Navy and will add two more in the production line for the coast guard. The addition of two ships for the coast guard, announced by the federal government in May, was supposed to be cost-effective as the design of the vessel was completed and the ships were in the process of being built. But documents recently tabled in Parliament show the government entered into a $58-million contract with Irving for engineering design work on the AOPS that would ensure the coast guard's vessels “can meet regulatory and operational requirements.” The coast guard has determined that only minimal modifications are required to the ships to meet its needs as well as any regulatory requirements, according to documents provided to Parliament as the result of a question from Conservative MP Lianne Rood. “The modifications have been assessed as minimal as none of the identified modifications will impact major elements of the AOPS design and construction,” Bernadette Jordan, the minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, stated in her written response. But critics are questioning why taxpayers are spending $58 million if the changes are so limited. “That's a very expensive tweak,” said Aaron Wudrick, the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “We'd like see some clarity from the government on what could possibly justify such an increase in the price tag.” Each AOPS is estimated to cost around $400 million. The coast guard originally looked at the AOPS in 2017-2018 but decided against acquiring the ship, industry representatives noted. But the Liberal government announced in May 2019 that two AOPS would be bought for the coast guard. One of the benefits of the purchase is to prevent layoffs at Irving as there is expected to be a gap between when the shipyard finishes the navy's AOPS and when it starts working on replacements for the navy's frigates. Tom Ormsby, director of communications for Irving, said the first step for the firm is to fully review the AOPS design and then confirm any modifications that are needed to be made for the coast guard. “Once modifications have been agreed to, these changes must then be worked through and implemented into the design,” he noted. “While not making major changes that a first-in-class design would require, the Canadian Coast Guard has a different and critical mission, including the need for scientific laboratories for sampling and research, so each vessel is being tailored to suit the Canadian Coast Guard's unique and important role.” The government only pays for actual costs incurred, he added. Irving will also receive an additional $18.8 million to purchase some initial equipment for the vessels as well as reimbursement for project management. The contract to Irving on the design changes was signed Nov. 1, 2019 and is to end March 31, 2021. Areas of change include modifications to the bridge layout and accommodations to meet Transport Canada requirements for a non-military crew, as well as changes to some areas to accommodate coast guard equipment and modifications to the deck, Jordan noted in her response to Parliament. The main portions of the ship, including the hull and propulsion systems, will remain unchanged, she added. The AOPS program was launched by the Conservative government with a minimum of five ships for the navy. The Liberal government approved the construction of a sixth AOPS for the navy and two for the coast guard But retired Liberal senator Colin Kenny, who served on the Senate defence committee, questions the value of the AOPS for either the navy or coast guard. Kenny noted he is also concerned about the engineering contract. “These changes shouldn't cost $58 million,” Kenny said. “I think it's questionable as to why we are even buying these ships.” In 2017 the Senate Defence Committee raised concerns about the capabilities of the AOPS. Among the issues identified by the committee was the slow speed of the AOPS and its limited ability to operate in ice-covered waters. “These limitations are troubling and raise the question of whether the taxpayers are receiving value for the monies spent,” the Senate report said. The Department of National Defence expects the delivery of the first AOPS by the end of March although it acknowledges there is a possibility that may not happen. The delivery of the vessel has already been delayed a number of times. The navy expects its last AOPS to be delivered by 2024. After the navy vessels are built, construction will begin on the AOPS for the coast guard, the federal government has said. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/irving-to-receive-58-million-for-minimal-changes-to-new-coast-guard-ships

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  March 26, 2020 | Local, C4ISR, Security

  All-volunteer cyber civil defence brigade assembles to fight COVID-19 hackers

  Number of online attacks on health care institutions jumped 475 per cent in one month, says one report Murray Brewster Civil defence used to involve air raid wardens, ambulance drivers and rescue teams. That was at the height of the Cold War, and the hot wars of the 20th century that preceded it. These days, it means taking the fight online — against hackers and cyber criminals looking to take down or ransom critical infrastructure, such as hospitals. The COVID-19 crisis has prompted Canadian IT professionals to form an all-volunteer cyber defence team to protect Canada's hospitals, health-care providers, municipalities and critical infrastructure from online attacks during the COVID-19 crisis. The SecDev Group, which has pioneered advanced analytics and cyber safety, has been spearheading the recruitment effort and has asked information technology professionals to step up and provide preventative measures and remedial services. 'Preying on fear' "Hackers are targeting hospitals and health care providers, preying on their distraction, fear and anxiety and their hope for a cure," said Rafal Rohozinski, principal and CEO of the SecDev Group "Posing as public health officials from the World Health Organization, [the] Centers for Disease Control and UNICEF, cyber criminals are flooding hospitals, medical laboratories, vaccine testing facilities, municipalities and critical service providers with phishing emails, forcing some to shut down." Trudeau leaves door open to using smartphone data to track Canadians' compliance with pandemic rules Twelve companies and associations have signed on to the initiative. Together, they plan to set up a secure online exchange to match high-tech professionals — who will volunteer their services free of charge — with agencies and institutions that need help to shore up their cyber protection, or to deal with an intrusion. "It's both a patriotic and public service reflex," said Rohozinski. "If the internet goes down, and in particular if critical institutions that we count on — like hospitals, like cities, like utilities — start to be ransomed or start to go down because of cyber malfeasance, we're all in a lot of trouble." The exchange website is still in the process of being built, but Rohozinski said it will launch within days. Online attacks exploded since pandemic began Across the globe, the number of coronavirus-related attacks on health-care institutions has increased by 475 per cent in just the past month, according to a SecDev Group assessment. At the moment, no Canadian hospitals or institutions have reported being attacked. Rohozinski said there have been signs of trolling by both cyber criminals and so-called "state actors" — including some of the Russian groups identified by U.S. intelligence as being behind the tampering in the 2016 presidential election. The Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canada's electronic intelligence service, has said it has taken down some fake websites that were posing as government departments and institutions and trying to scam people. The U.S. Health and Human Services Department was recently targeted and the FBI has warned that hospitals in the states with the highest rates of infection — California, New York and Washington — should be on the alert for attacks from foreign actors. Hammersmith Medicines Research, a British company that is on standby to perform medical trials on any potential COVID-19 vaccine, was hit with an online attack last week, according to published reports. Over the last few days, according to a Bloomberg news report, hackers targeted hospitals in Paris with a major cyberattack. A hospital in the Czech Republic was also hit last week in what is thought to have been a ransomware attack, which forced administrators to take the network offline. Forbes Magazine reported late last week that the cybercrime groups behind the DoppelPaymer and Maze ransomware threats had promised not to target health care organizations during the COVID-19 crisis — but at least one of the groups was reportedly linked to a recent attack. Remote work networks are vulnerable An executive at one of the companies now volunteering for the cyber civil defence initiative said one area where institutions likely need help is in protecting the virtual private networks (VPNs) of employees who've been forced to work from home because of the crisis. Robert Mazzolin, the chief cyber security strategist at the RHEA Group, said the VPN systems used by most hospitals, power plants and other utilities were never designed to support so many secure connections outside the workplace. "The world is fundamentally different than it was a week ago and I don't think any large corporation or institution realistically would have been prepared to see virtually its entire workforce be working from home via remote connections," said Mazzolin, a former brigadier-general who was responsible for cyber operations in the Canadian military. Canada's cyber spies taking down sites as battle against COVID-19 fraud begins Canada's health sector at risk of cyberattacks as COVID-19 fear spreads: CSE "That places a large stress on an institution's communications workforce. The threats out there, including ransomware — it's important to be able to defend VPNs that are stretched well beyond their normal capacity and limits." He said his company and staff, who regularly work for the European Space Agency, will be able to provide insight and capability that will complement existing networks. The mandate of CSE is to protect the federal government's electronic network and — through its cyber security centre — to provide advice and guidance to people and businesses looking for cyber security information. Rohozinski said there's a difference between providing advice and actively helping in the defence and the initiative has CSE's support. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/covid19-cyber-companies-1.5508570

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  December 7, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

  Simthetiq Awarded Contract from Canada’s DND

  Simthetiq has been awarded a new contract under the CASE SEM contract from the Canadian Department on National Defence (NDN) to grow the Canadian Armed Forces's (CAF) access to additional simulation entity models from their interoperable 3D Model Library. Simthetiq was selected in 2016 for the unique benefits offered by their X1 library, such as the ability to publish to multiple simulation formats, accessto source files and the capacity to further enhance the 3D models with crucial functionalities such as material encoding for sensor/thermal simulation. Vincent Cloutier, CEO of Simthetiq said “We are extremely proud of our continuing role as a supplier to the Canadian DND. We are looking forward to supporting the growing needs of existing and new CAF customers as well as expanding the use of Simthetiq's library by other allied nations.” http://www.canadiandefencereview.com/news?news/2584