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The Public Safety Canada memo, prepared to address concerns about Chinese vehicles, urges Canadians to be mindful of the security and privacy risks of the digital devices they buy and use.

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"Opening our markets to new players can amplify the presence of high-risk vendors. Connected vehicles, similar to other smart or internet-connected devices, collect significant amounts of data on Canadians, which can have intelligence value," it says.

"For example, unauthorized access to data and connected vehicle systems could be used to establish patterns of life or conduct surveillance on sensitive sites."

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It points out that companies in Canada must comply with federal privacy law, or provincial equivalents, that set out rules for collecting, using and disclosing personal information.

The memo adds, however, that it's important to remember the national security laws of certain countries, like China, can compel manufacturers and suppliers to share data with their home government or police.

"The risk that Canadian data collected by connected vehicles are accessed and exploited increases when these data are sent to — or transit through — foreign jurisdictions with more permissive data management frameworks."

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In addition, foreign ownership of the infrastructure — such as the digital cloud — that supports the connected devices can pose a risk to privacy and cybersecurity, the memo says.

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