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Public Safety Minister Vic Toews responds to a question during Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Tuesday June 12, 2012.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

The federal government is concerned about its own cyber security, but the public safety minister refused to say Wednesday where the potential threats are coming from.

While the U.S. and other countries have publicly called out Chinese-owned firms as being among the dangers, Vic Toews said he sees no reason to name names — at least right now.

"If there is a national security interest that requires disclosure of some of these names and companies, that will be done in due course," Mr. Toews said.

"At this time I don't see simply making general allegations without talking about why I would be saying that."

Mr. Toews admitted that some countries pose a greater risk than others, but wouldn't say which ones are of particular concern.

"I don't think that's going to serve any particular purpose calling out any particular country at this time," he said.

"I'm certainly aware of where threats come from and we are constantly being briefed by our allies on developments in that respect."

One firm under scrutiny around the world is the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which is already active in Canada and could be in a position to bid on upcoming government contracts.

Australia has already barred the firm from doing government work there and a report from a U.S. congressional committee earlier this month suggested the firm should be equally prohibited from doing similar work in the U.S.

Mr. Toews won't say whether Canada will follow America's lead.

"The Americans make their own decisions, we make our decisions," he said. "We certainly look at what the Americans are doing and consider that but we will make decisions in the best interests of Canada."

Mr. Toews made the remarks as he announced a further $155-million over five years to reinforce the federal government's infrastructure and networks to better protect against cyber threats.

The money comes on the heels of last week's stunning guilty plea from Canadian Forces Sub-Lt. Jeffrey Paul Delisle, who was facing charges of espionage and breach of trust for selling classified information to Russia from 2007 to 2012.

SLt. Delisle had been employed as a threat assessment analyst at Trinity, a highly-secretive military facility in Halifax.

His position gave him access to intelligence shared by the Five Eyes group, which includes Canada, Great Britain, the United States, New Zealand and Australia.

SLt. Delisle had been slipping the Russians information obtained off his work computer.

The money announced Wednesday also comes ahead of an auditor general's report assessing whether federal organizations are doing enough to protect itself against cyber threats.

Last year, hackers managed to force the Finance and Treasury Board departments offline after an employee clicked on a link in an email that allowed outsiders to infiltrate government systems.

The auditor general's report is scheduled to be released next week.

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