Canadian officials announced on Monday that unknown hackers launched a "significant" cyberattack targeting the country's foreign ministry, forcing some services to shut down last week.
Authorities did not immediately release information about suspected individuals or parties that Ottawa believed were behind the attack. Officials said they detected the cyberattack last Wednesday, which was a day before Canada's signals intelligence agency said network operators of critical infrastructure should bolster their defenses against Russian-state-sponsored threats.
Significant Cyber Attack
The country's Treasury Board released a statement where they said that critical services were still functioning after the attack. However, they noted that some access to the internet and internet-based services were hit and were temporarily shut down. The board had overall responsibility for government operations in Canada.
The agency added that there was no indication that any other government departments were affected by the hack. However, the Treasury Board said that there would be no further details released related to the issue, MSN reported.
Canadian officials immediately took mitigation actions on the same day that the cyber attack was detected. However, the hack continued to cause disruptions to a host of departmental systems on Monday. Authorities said that the effects of the incident would take several days to address.
The released statement also confirmed that Canada's digital defense and spy agency, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), and the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security are investigating the incident.
On Monday, GAC, TBS, and CSE refused to mention individuals or parties they believed were responsible for the attack. Authorities also did not reveal whether or not any classified or sensitive information or networks have been compromised during the cyber attack, National Post reported.
Widespread Disruptions
The situation comes as Canada has taken a strong line against Russia's military build-up on the Ukrainian border despite widespread international criticism. Furthermore, Ottawa very rarely openly speaks about hacks that have affected its systems.
In one incident in 2011, officials said that a "highly sophisticated Chinese state-sponsored actor" broke into a leading research body, a statement that Beijing immediately denied. A former Canadian cabinet minister said in 2014 that Chinese operators were suspected in the hacking of the Treasury Board and the finance ministry in 2011, Inquirer reported.
Canadian officials announced that they were currently investigating the incident and were unable to comment further on any specific details for operations reasons. A former national security analyst and an associate professor of international relations at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Stephanie Carvin, said that the operating theory in the security community is that Global Affairs was hacked.
Last Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $120-million loan for Kyiv as it prepares for a potential war with Russia. The official also signaled more support was to be deployed as the Liberal government bolstered its tone on the threat of Russian invasion and mulls more soldier training and defensive military for Ukraine.
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security last Thursday joined its counterparts in the United States and Britain in urging Canadian companies, such as electrical utilities and energy firms, to prepare for possible cyber threats from Russia, The Globe and Mail reported.
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