24 septembre 2018 | Local, C4ISR, Sécurité
Catharine Tunney · CBC News
Organized crime is moving online and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is struggling to keep up, according to a briefing note prepared for RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki when she took over the top job earlier this year.
The memo, obtained by CBC News under access to information law, may launch a renewed battle between the national police service and privacy advocates.
"Increasingly, criminality is conducted on the internet and investigations are international in nature, yet investigative tools and RCMP capacity have not kept pace," says the memo tucked into Lucki's briefing book.
"Growing expectations of policing responsibilities and accountability, as well as complexities of the criminal justice system, continue to overwhelm the administrative demands within policing."
In 2016 nearly 24,000 cybercrime-related cases were reported to Canadian police, up 58 per cent over 2014. The report's authors note that cybercrime tends to be under-reported.
Encryption of online data has a been a persistent thorn in the RCMP's side.
Lucki's predecessor lobbied the government for new powers to bypass digital roadblocks, including tools to get around encryption and warrantless access to internet subscriber information.
"Approximately 70 per cent of all communications intercepted by CSIS and the RCMP are now encrypted ... 80 organized crime groups were identified as using encryption in 2016 alone," says the 274-page document.
Some critics have noted that non-criminals — journalists, protesters and academics, among others — also use encryption tools online and have warned any new encryption legislation could undermine the security of financial transactions and daily online communication.
Ann Cavoukian was Ontario's privacy commissioner for three terms; she now runs Ryerson University's Privacy by Design Centre of Excellence. She called the RCMP's push for more online policing power "appalling."
"I guess we should remind them that we still live in a free and democratic society where people have privacy rights, which means that they should be in control of their personal information," she said.
"If you're a law abiding citizen, you get to decide how your information is used and to whom it's disclosed. The police have no right to access your personal information online, unless of course they have a warrant."
Lucki was specifically warned about criminal suspects "going dark," a term used to describe the gap between the lawful ability of police forces to obtain online evidence and changing technology.
She also was advised the RCMP's court-authorized arsenal (things like court orders and "computer network exploitation techniques," which cover hacking) are "rapidly declining."
"Get more efficient," said Cavoukian.
A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said that "encryption is critical to safeguarding our cybersecurity, privacy and the digital economy."
"However, it has also created gaps for law enforcement and national security agencies," wrote Scott Bardsley in an email.
Earlier this year, the House of Commons' public safety and national security committee released a 76-page report that recommended "no changes to the lawful access regime for subscriber information and encrypted information be made."
But the committee didn't shelve the issue, promising instead to study the evolving challenges.
"The government will support the standing committee on national security and public safety in its continued work to study these and other emerging technological issues related to cybersecurity," wrote Bardsley.
"It will also continue to examine options to ensure agencies have the resources necessary to gain access to decrypted data required to address criminal activity."
Cavoukian predicts "a real fight" over the issue.
Bardsley says the government has pledged $116 million over five years, and $23.2 million per year after that, to help create the national cybercrime coordination unit, which would help "provide digital investigative advice and guidance to Canadian law enforcement."
The RCMP didn't meet CBC's deadline for a comment.
The briefing binder also flags the RCMP's persistent problem with replenishing its ranks when officers retire or otherwise leave the force.
"The RCMP has a growing vacancy rate that exceeds its present ability to produce regular members at a rate that keeps pace with projected future demands," it warns.
As of April 2018, there were 1,122 funded vacant regular member positions —a vacancy rate of 5.6 per cent. That's down slightly from the previous year, when the vacancy rate was 6.6 per cent.
The briefing note says that in the last five years, there has been a "dramatic" increase in the number of new recruits needed to fill operational vacancies and evolving program requirements.
About 1,280 cadets were expected to be enrolled in 2018-2019, up from 1,152 the previous year.
In 2016, CBC News reported that the RCMP was dropping its requirement that applicants be Canadian citizens, and that it would accept applications from permanent residents.
The RCMP also loosened entrance requirements to deal with a wave of retirements, low pay and the need to expand its pool of potential new officers.
Starting this month, the RCMP is dropping its requirement that applicants must be Canadian citizens. It will now accept permanent residents. Post-secondary graduates no longer will have to write an entrance exam that measures aptitude for police work and the force will no longer require a physical abilities evaluation before people submit an application.
With files from the CBC's Kathleen Harris.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lucki-briefing-binde-cybercrime-1.4831340
11 février 2022 | Local, Aérospatial
(CercleFinance.com) - Boeing annonce qu'il compte présenter le P-8A Poseidon comme réponse à la demande d'information du Canada, Ottawa étant à la recherche d'avions de patrouille maritime à long rayon d'a... - 10/02/2022 à 16:50 - Boursorama
31 janvier 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
Acquisition Expands FLIR's Unmanned Systems Solutions with Advanced Airframes, Sensors, and Flight Management Software for Government and Defense Customers WILSONVILLE, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 2019-- FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) announced today that it has acquired Aeryon Labs Inc., a leading developer of high-performance unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for the global military, public safety, and critical infrastructure markets for $200 million. Aeryon's vertical takeoff and landing quad-copter airframes integrate multiple sensors, including FLIR thermal technology, to provide users with immediate high-resolution intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capability. Based in Waterloo, Canada, and with offices in Denverand Salt Lake City, Aeryon Labs was founded in 2007 and is a leading designer and manufacturer of mission-focused Group 1 UAS solutions built around aircraft under 20 pounds. Aeryon's family of UAS are deployed by 20 militaries in over 30 countries around the world, including the United States Department of Defense. Aeryon develops UAS solutions that includes hardware, embedded software, ground control stations, sensors, software for flight operations, as well as supporting services for its global customers. “The acquisition of Aeryon Labs reinforces our long-term strategy to move beyond providing sensors to the development of complete solutions that save lives and livelihoods,” said Jim Cannon, President and CEO of FLIR Systems. “This acquisition, coupled with our acquisition of Prox Dynamics in 2016, greatly increases our unmanned systems solutions capabilities, expanding beyond nano-UAS into Group 1 UAS solutions for military. We intend to continue to invest and build this area of our business and broaden our capabilities as we view unmanned and autonomous solutions to be a significant opportunity for organic growth in the coming years.” Rugged, reliable, and field-proven, Aeryon's SkyRanger UAS are rucksack portable and can be deployed in minutes by a single operator. SkyRanger UAS are renowned for operating in demanding environments and inclement weather, including at high altitudes, gusting winds, and rain and snow. The latest additions to the SkyRanger family of aircraft establish a new benchmark for small UAS performance and reliability. Now with a modular and open architecture, end users and third party developers can create tightly integrated payloads and software systems for the SkyRanger platform, enabling rapid solution development, onboard artificial intelligence, and autonomous operations. “We're thrilled to join the FLIR family and to have a large, growth-oriented technology company as our new home,” said Dave Kroetsch, Co-founder and CTO of Aeryon Labs. “As drone technology and its markets evolve, customers are seeking UAS as just one component of a broader solution. While Aeryon has been evolving in that direction for the past few years, being part of FLIR Systems brings a path to include our hardware and software technologies in much bigger solutions than would have ever been possible on our own.” Aeryon Labs is now part of the FLIR Government and Defense Business Unit's Unmanned Systems and Integrated Solutions division. The transaction is expected to be $0.02 dilutive to FLIR Systems' 2019 earnings due to anticipated product development investments, and accretive thereafter. FLIR Systems' management will discuss this strategic acquisition during its 2018 Q4 earnings call scheduled for February 13 at 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. About FLIR Systems Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon, FLIR Systems is a world-leading maker of sensor systems that enhance perception and heighten awareness, helping to save lives, improve productivity, and protect the environment. Through its nearly 3,700 employees, FLIR Systems' vision is to be “The World's Sixth Sense” by leveraging thermal imaging and adjacent technologies to provide innovative, intelligent solutions for security and surveillance, environmental and condition monitoring, outdoor recreation, machine vision, navigation, and advanced threat detection. For more information, please visit www.flir.comand follow @flir. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may contain words such as “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” and “believes” and similar words and expressions and include the assumptions that underlie such statements. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates, and projections based, in part, on potentially inaccurate assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and FLIR Systems does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release, or for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet service providers. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190128005367/en/ Source: FLIR Systems, Inc. http://investors.flir.com/index.php/news-releases/news-release-details/flir-systems-acquires-aeryon-labs-200m
31 mai 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
by Ken Pole Shortly before Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announced on May 29 that a formal request for proposals (RFP) to supply 88 new Canadian fighter jets would be delayed again — this time to mid-July — two potential contenders said that a proposal to scrap the customary industrial benefits element of the procurement is problematic. Jim Barnes, director of Business Development in Canada for Boeing Defense, Space & Security and Roger Schallom, the company's St. Louis-based vice-president of International Business Development, along with Patrick Palmer, vice-president and head of Sales at Saab Canada Inc., expressed their common concern during briefings at CANSEC, the annual Ottawa trade show organized by the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI). Boeing's contender to replace the RCAF's legacy fleet of CF-188 Hornets is the F/A-18 Super Hornet, while Saab's is the JAS 39 Gripen (the company had a full-scale replica parked front-and-centre outside CANSEC's main entrance). The other contenders are Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and Airbus Military's Eurofighter Typhoon. Barring any further hiccups in a program fraught with political indecision and already years behind the original schedule, the RFP process overseen by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is expected to lead to two finalists being chosen next year with a view to making a final selection in 2022. The government had been expected to issue its RFP by May 31 after years of indecision, but that latest deadline in the troubled procurement was postponed as officials at DND, PSPC and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada review the industrial benefits element. “This is proof that your feedback is heard and acted upon,” Sajjan told the CANSEC audience. The proposed industrial benefits change was disclosed earlier this month by Richard Shimooka, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI), an Ottawa-based think tank. He said in a report published by the MLI (May 6) that the Canadian government was yielding to pressure from the United States by changing the long-established requirement that companies bidding for contracts agree to investing an equivalent amount in Canada. The fighter procurement, including in-service support, is expected to cost at least $18 billion. Shimooka cited letters from U.S. officials that indicate “resentment and distrust towards the government of Canada had grown, particularly within the U.S. Air Force.” The letters evidently focused on the “significant strategic and economic benefits that have already been accrued from being part of the JSF program.” However, he added, the letters also contained “an implicit (but clear) threat that Canada could be kicked out of the program if Ottawa continues with its current policy of trying to obtain guaranteed industrial benefits that, by their very nature, are not allowed under the JSF Program. . . . There was a complete lack of logic of Canada's policy, which seemed to ignore basic facts about membership in the JSF program, including clear advantages in cost and capability that the F-35 provided.” In his CANSEC briefing, Barnes admitted to having been “surprised by the recommended changes” in the shift in the long-standing requirement. “That policy's been in place for decades and it's been very successful for Canadian industry,” he replied, questioning what he called the government's decision to “accommodate a competitor.” Schallom added that adhering to the historic requirement for direct industrial offsets, rather than simply offering “non-binding” bidding opportunities on future contracts, would be better for Canada's economy over the expected 30 years or more of the new fighter program. “You're probably missing out on $30 billion-plus in guaranteed work.” Saab's Palmer echoed that position 30 minutes later, saying that he is concerned that the “non-binding requirement may not necessarily give Canadians the best value over the long term,” but, “until we see the final RFP (request for proposals), I'll reserve final judgment.” However, when asked how Saab had responded formally to the proposed change on industrial benefits, he said, “We've asked them for some more information as it relates to the specifics of how items are going to be measured,” but had “definitely indicated that it doesn't necessarily encourage the best solution for Canada at the end of the day.” https://www.skiesmag.com/news/fighter-rfp-delayed-again-pending-official-review-of-industrial-benefits-policy