A Canadian anti-Israel group, CJPME, proudly claimed that Hydro-Quebec caved to BDS demands to stop cooperating with Israel.
Another BDS Win?! šš‼️@hydroquebec Quebec chooses not to renew a cyber-security contract with Israeli company IEC. @BDS_Quebec has been working for years to pressure Hydro-Quebec to sever the partnership. Congratulations! https://t.co/cIAJTpQ2eA— CJPME (@CJPME) August 28, 2019
Hydro-Quebec responded that CJPME have no idea what they are talking about and that they have excellent relations with IEC.
Regarding the end of our cybersecurity knowledge sharing partnership with Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), we would like to state that it was not politically motivated in any way or the result of a pressure from BDS QuƩbec. The partnership agreement of good practices between Hydro-QuƩbec and the IEC, signed in May 2017, lasted two years. It ended, as initially planned, in May 2019. The partnership was not renewed for the simple reason that our needs and expectations regarding the sharing of information in the area of cybersecurity were fully met in the course of our 2 year collaboration. We continue to have excellent relations with the IEC and could eventually pursue our discussions should the need arise.The BDSers will have a press conference this morning pretending to reveal important information about this - the memo of the 2017 agreement between IEC and Hydro-Quebec, being spun by an anti-Israel lawyer.
The funny thing is that the agreement ended in May, and the BDSers are only now noticing. A recent article in TVA Nouvelles talks about cyberattacks on Hydro-Quebec and how they are defending against them (autotranslated):
Hydro-QuƩbec says it has learned a lot in Israel about how to better avoid cyber attacks.
Over the past two years, Hydro-QuƩbec has been to the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) school, the equivalent of Hydro-QuƩbec in Israel. The agreement ended last May.
"This agreement has allowed us to share our knowledge. Israelis are recognized as the best in the world in the field of cybersecurity, "said a spokesman for Hydro-Quebec, Louis-Olivier Batty.
The Israel Electric Corporation estimates it counteracts millions of malicious interventions annually.
The Israeli state-owned company has developed state-of-the-art expertise to counter hackers.
Many analysts believe that Israel has become a model to follow in the field of computer security.
Israel has more than 450 companies specializing in cybersecurity on its territory. In 2018 alone, 60 new companies were created in Israel in this very promising niche for the economy of the Jewish state.
The expertise of the Israel Electric Corporation is so popular that since 2013 it has offered paid training in cybersecurity.
The training program is not only intended for power grid operators, but also for IT managers in the industrial, manufacturing, insurance and financial sectors, among others.
Hydro-QuƩbec argues that its agreement with the Israel Electric Corporation, however, did not cost anything.
"It was a knowledge sharing agreement," said his spokesperson.