Australia has joined the US and UK in developing a secret cloud network to exchange top-secret defense, national security and intelligence data with each other. Canada is only just beginning to consider this idea.
Experts say that unless the gap closes soon, Canada’s lack of such digital infrastructure means that the F-35 stealth fighter jets and MQ-9 Reaper drones the federal government has pledged to buy will It said it would have a significant impact on new military equipment such as aircraft and long-range fighters. Range of P-8 reconnaissance aircraft.
This gap also puts Canada at a disadvantage in negotiations to join the high-tech portion of AUKUS, a trilateral defense and technology partnership involving the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
The AUKUS countries are also part of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, with the remaining partners being New Zealand and Canada. As a result, three of the five countries in Canada’s most important intelligence alliance now exchange highly classified information on secure cloud-based systems that Canada does not have access to.
Defense Minister Bill Blair acknowledged the government has “work to do” on the issue, but insisted it takes the issue seriously and is committed to preserving and protecting Canada’s most sensitive data. He said it was important to continue to do so.
“I want autonomy. I want control over my data,” Blair told CBC News in a recent interview.
“We don’t want Canada’s most sensitive data to be stored in other countries. We want Canada to be able to control its own data and know with confidence that it’s safe.”
Prime Minister Tony Blair said Canada’s sensitive data is currently stored on physical servers in this country. For Canada to get its own secure cloud network, it would need to hire a major foreign technology company like Amazon to build it.
However, if Canada does not already have an independent cloud network by the time a data-generating weapon system like the F-35 enters service, Canada will need access to one of these high-tech companies’ own cloud networks. He says he wants to protect Prime Minister Blair’s autonomy because he may have to buy it.
More than four years ago, Australia began moving quickly to build a secure cloud infrastructure.
Andrew Shearer, director of Australia’s Office of National Intelligence (ONI), revealed the existence of the project in a chat with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies in December last year.
He said the secret cloud would facilitate the exchange of vast amounts of sensitive data between Australian, American and British intelligence agencies.
Since then, Australia has signed a contract worth almost Cdn 1.9 billion with Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of US tech giant Amazon, to host Australia’s defense, security and intelligence data.

In 2021, the UK established a secret cloud, also using AWS. The Department of Defense and the U.S. intelligence community use both AWS and Microsoft for their high-security cloud systems.
Canada entered the game last spring, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Ottawa would launch a government-wide sovereign computing strategy to boost domestic artificial intelligence development.
Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced a public consultation on how to use the $2 billion attached to the strategy, following last June.
According to the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) website, the purpose of the consultation is to “engage researchers, innovators and businesses to identify the best strategies for investing in Canada’s AI future.” It is said that
“We know that our data requirements will go far beyond that in the future. [the] capacity [of the government’s servers]”So…I don’t need to go to a foreign company or a foreign private company to access data collected by Canada’s military and security agencies,” Prime Minister Blair said.
But that may be exactly what the federal government will have to do as new military assets like the F-35 and new frigates enter active service.

All these new weapons systems require a secret cloud network to reach their full potential. Without its own dedicated sovereign cloud network, the Department of Defense (DND) would be forced to store the data these systems generate on a contract basis (possibly in the US where US law applies). contract with a technology company).
“Cloud technology is basically a really important enabler for all branches of the military to be able to absorb information and get it out and use it,” said Dave, director of the Canadian Institute for Global Affairs. Perry said.
A recent update to Canada’s defense policy mentions the digitalization of the military, but the reference to secret cloud networks is buried among many other initiatives in the document.
AUKUS caught Ottawa by surprise.
Several defense experts, including Perry, said the lack of focus on sovereign cloud infrastructure means the Five Eyes alliance will become more of a “third-eyed” partnership, with AUKUS’ high-tech pillars of security It says it could undermine Canada’s efforts to join the US. Placement.
There is always a sense of wounded pride among Canadian defense officials whenever AUKUS is brought up. Being excluded from the gathering of Canada’s oldest and closest allies and intelligence partners was a blow to the country’s sometimes tenuous sense of its place in the world.
The creation of AUKUS in 2021 blindsided the Trudeau government, which initially downplayed the deal as a deal to secure nuclear submarines for Australia. But this has been repeatedly cited by critics as evidence that Canada is no longer taken seriously by its friends or seen as a reliable security partner.
Mr Perry said Australia appeared to be more insightful and determined than Canada.
“Australia was looking at this threat and investing in the capabilities that we thought were needed. We set up mechanisms to actually acquire them,” Perry said.
“In the Canadian context, the timeline is lightning fast.”
Daniel Araya, an artificial intelligence expert and senior fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), says Ottawa’s complacency is catching up with the status quo, and negotiations to join AUKUS will not be easy. He said he believed it would not move forward.
“It’s humiliating.”
“I don’t think we’re taking this issue seriously,” Araya said. “The truth is… [security] The umbrella that America provides will protect us. Therefore, as a practical matter, it is not important for Canada to be directly involved in its own secret cloud.
“That being said, it’s humiliating,” he added. “I think it erodes our credibility and takes away some of our confidence.”
Araya said the federal government needs to overcome several hurdles if it wants to catch up, citing the military’s persistent resistance to handing over sensitive data to the private sector.
“This is very serious bureaucracy,” he said. “There are intense discussions going on across the major military services, but I think there will be some discussion because a lot of it depends on the private sector.” [internal] resistance. “
But he also said there is good reason to be wary of the potential for big technology companies to hold governments hostage in such high-security, high-stakes projects.
“The military is famous for spending a lot of money on products, whether it’s hardware or software. That’s probably going to happen here,” Araya said.
He said the solution is for Ottawa to foster small domestic AI and cloud-based providers to create alternatives. This is what the federal strategy launched earlier this year is supposed to do. But the federal government cannot afford to sit idly by, he added.
“We should step up,” he said. “I think we need better leadership at the federal level.”