OTTAWA - Canada and the United States announced Friday they were launching a joint cybsersecurity plan to protect their digital infrastructure from online threats.

The action plan, under the auspices of the US Department of Homeland Security and Public Safety Canada, aims to better protect critical digital infrastructure and improve the response to cyber incidents.

"Canada and the US have a mutual interest in partnering to protect our shared infrastructure," said the Public Safety Minister Vic Toews.

"We are committed to working together to protect vital cyber systems, to respond to and recover from any cyber disruptions and to make cyberspace safer for all our citizens."

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the plan "reinforces the robust relationship" between their two agencies.

Through the plan, Washington and Ottawa hope to improve collaboration on managing cyber incidents between their respective cyber security operation centers, enhance information sharing and engagement with the private sector and pursue US-Canadian collaboration to promote cyber security awareness to the public.

The announcement came after the US House Intelligence Committee warned earlier this month that equipment supplied by Chinese telecoms groups Huawei and ZTE could be used for spying and called for their exclusion from government contracts and acquisitions.

Canada later invoked a "national security exception" that could exclude China's Huawei Technologies from a role in helping build its new super secure government network.

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