Canada has named China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as major cyber crime threats and said these foreign countries could try to disrupt power supplies.
Canada’s Communications Security Establishment (CSE) intelligence agency said the China, Russia, Iran and North Korea pose the greatest strategic threat to Canada. It is the first time that CSE has named countries that threaten Canada’s security and infrastructure.
China’s Foreign Ministry responded quickly to the CSE report, stating that Canada’s claims are "groundless" and China is itself a victim of cyber attacks. In 2019, Russian actors were caught probing U.S. and Canadian electricity utilities.
CSE said the threat of potential hacks was serious given how many people today rely on digital services amid the coronavirus pandemic.
CSE is probing whether China’s Huawei Technologies can supply equipment for next-generation 5G networks in Canada. The United States and other close allies of Canada have moved to block Huawei, saying its gear could contain backdoors allowing access for spies.
Canada’s political opposition is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to get tougher on China by officially banning Huawei Technologies 5G technology from being used in the country.
Fifth generation (5G) networks offer data speeds up to 50 or 100 times faster than 4G networks and are expected to power everything from telemedicine and remote surgery to self-driving cars.
