The IT Nerd

Chinese company Huawei has been in the news along with Chinese company ZTE because of the potential of both companies being a national security threat. The United States has taken a really hard line against both companies. But so far, the Canadian Government hasn’t done or said much of anything against either company. This despite US lawmakers raising this as an issue with the Canadian Government.

So let’s walk through this. Are these companies threats to Canada? I can’t answer that. But the evidence is there that suggests that they might be. And that evidence comes from people who should be in the know. Thus if I were the Canadian Government, I would at least look at the evidence to see if there’s anything there. And if there is, I’d take immediate action. But saying nothing and doing nothing is not an option. At least not in this day and age because not only is this a potential threat to Canada, but a threat to our allies as well. The Canadian Government has a responsibility to protect Canadians from these threats. At the moment it doesn’t seem like they’re interested in doing so. Thus they’ve failed Canadians on this front.

I for one hope they wake up and take this issue seriously before it’s too late.

All this week, different parts of Canada have been running tests of the new Alert Ready emergency alert system that is supposed to alert you of anything from an Amber Alert (a missing child) to natural disasters. Alerts are supposed to show up on radio, TV, and as a notification on your phone, as was the case with your truly:

The problem is that I was one of the lucky ones apparently. Some people didn’t get the alert while the person next to them did. Here are some examples:

And in the case of anyone in Quebec, nobody got the alert. Though that was due to an employee screw up. But what is clear is that this system which is supposed to keep the public safe doesn’t work. Thus I suspect that there will be a lot of explaining to do by those who put this together, and likely more tests. I for one hope that they get this sorted quickly as emergencies don’t wait until your systems are perfect before they hit you.

It appears that there is common sense in the world as news is filtering out that a teen in Nova Scotia who was arrested last month for figuring out how to mass download freedom of information requests, effectively pwning the site, have been dropped:

Halifax Regional Police say they won’t be charging a 19-year-old man arrested last month for downloading files from Nova Scotia’s freedom-of-information portal.

Spokesperson Neera Ritcey said in an email Monday that after a thorough investigation, police determined there were no grounds to lay a charge of unauthorized use of a computer against the teen.

Now that is the correct outcome as this teen didn’t have any ill will. He was just curious. Hopefully he learns from this and is a bit more circumspect going forward. The only downside to all of this is that the Nova Scotia government has to notify people that their data has been improperly accessed. But I say that they wouldn’t have to do that if the data was properly secured in the first place.

The Collision Conference, one of North America’s most influential technology gatherings, tweeted this on Tuesday:

Collision, which typically boasts 25,000 attendees, will be coming to Toronto Canada in 2019. And it will be staying for another 2 years past that. The video with PM Justin Trudeau clearly takes some thinly veiled shots at the US and the Trump administration. Something that won’t go unnoticed by said administration. And the thing is that Collision is not alone in coming north. At least two other major technology conferences have recently made the decision to relocate to Canada. They are lured in part by Toronto’s burgeoning tech sector, but also driven by travel restrictions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Policies that have left organizers scrambling to accommodate those who can’t visit the United States. That’s going to cost the US some cash, which will also likely not go unnoticed. 

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I love the fact that these people are coming here as it will put Canada on the map and we’ll make some money. But at the same time, I fear what a reactionary and anything but a stable genius will do when this hits his desk. That could be a problem. But in the meantime, welcome to Canada all those who come here for these conferences.