Canada’s federal government is taking the threat of cyberattacks seriously. So seriously that officials in Ottawa have stashed $102 billion into an emergency fund to keep the government running in the event that the country’s cyber defences are breached.
The $102 billion emergency fund of highly liquid assets is available to keep Canada’s federal government running for at least a month should the country find itself confronted by a severe crisis, namely a cyberattack that impairs access to financial markets. The assets are held in what the government calls its “prudential liquidity plan,” part of which can be compared to a chequing account that offers Ottawa quick access to the funds if needed.
News of Ottawa’s fund to protect the country in the event of a major cyber-attacks comes days after the U.S. government announced that Russian hackers had the capability to shut down the electricity grid and water supply throughout that country.
A recently released briefing note for Finance Minister Bill Morneau explained details about the unheralded plan.
“Canada holds liquidity reserves as a hedge against highly unlikely but potentially disruptive stress events,” said the August 2017 memo, obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act. “The (prudential liquidity plan) framework ensures that the government holds sufficient high quality liquid assets to cover a ‘survival horizon’ of at least one month.”
The nest egg’s contents are made up of about $2 billion worth of cash balances at the Bank of Canada; $10 billion in cash balances that are auctioned off to financial institutions for durations of typically less than one week so they generate returns; a callable demand deposit of $20 billion at the Bank of Canada; and about $70 billion of foreign reserve assets from Ottawa’s exchange fund account.
In last month’s budget, the government earmarked $507.7 million over five years to strengthen the country’s protections and response capabilities in the event of a cyberattack. The investments will support a new national cybersecurity strategy, a new Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and the creation of a national cybercrime co-ordination unit by the RCMP.
“Cyberattacks are becoming more pervasive, increasingly sophisticated and ever more effective,” said Minister Morneau when delivering the latest federal budget. “Successful cyberattacks have the potential to expose the private information of Canadians, cost Canadian businesses millions of dollars, and potentially put Canada’s critical infrastructure networks at risk.”
The Bank of Canada has also issued recent warnings about cyber threats. It has said the country’s interconnected banks are vulnerable to a cascading series of attacks, something that could undermine broad confidence in Canada’s financial system.
