The head of Canada’s cyberspy agency says Canadian individuals, organizations and critical infrastructure all face an increased threat from cybercriminals looking for economic advantage or to punish people for supporting Ukraine.
In her first interview as head of the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), the federal agency responsible for signals intelligence and cyber-defence, Caroline Xavier told CBC’s The House that ransomware attacks have become increasingly popular among cybercriminals. And security services can’t fight back without the public’s help, she added.
“It can’t just be on the government. We all have to do our part,” Xavier told host Catherine Cullen during the interview, which airs Saturday.
Even simple steps like keeping software updated and being aware of commonplace scams can help reduce risk across the board, she said. The CSE has compiled a series of guides for individuals and organizations across the country to enhance their online defences.
The House17:53Inside Canada’s secretive cyber-spy agency
The Communications Security Establishment is Canada’s cyber-security organization. It intercepts and decodes intelligence, protects Canada from hacking — and can even strike back against cyberattacks. In her first-ever interview as head of the CSE, Caroline Xavier discusses her agency’s efforts to defend Canada.
“We talk about phishing and emails that could be coming into your organization and paying close attention to who sent it to you,” Xavier said. “We tell you that for a reason, because all it takes is one click to be into a whole new game that you weren’t expecting.”
The CSE has warned Canadians about online risks before, but the threat has become even more apparent in recent years due to a series of high-profile attacks.
The agency said earlier this year that at one point, a cyber actor “had the potential to cause physical damage” to a piece of critical infrastructure in Canada. Hydro-Québec was the victim of a cyberattack on its website in April. Attacks on disparate targets such as Newfoundland and Labrador’s health system and the bookseller Indigo have shut down important systems or exposed Canadians’ personal information.
Hackers temporarily shut down a series of Canadian government websites earlier this year, coinciding with the visit of Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
“It’s not uncommon for Russian hackers to target countries as they are showing their steadfast support for Ukraine … so the timing isn’t surprising,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a joint news conference with Shmyhal in April.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal take part in a joint news conference at the Royal York hotel, in Toronto, on April 11, 2023. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Xavier cited the Colonial Pipeline attack in the United States last year as an example of a dangerous assault on critical infrastructure. The CSE issued a report this week outlining the threat to Canada’s oil and gas industry posed by bad actors online.
“Just imagine that if you get to a gas distribution and the pressure mounts, it could potentially explode and that could be really harmful to a local neighborhood, for example, or people that are surrounding it,” Xavier said.
The likelihood of such an attack by a state-sponsored actor in the absence of outright hostilities is very low, said the CSE report.
People grow frustrated waiting in line for gasoline for more than an hour in Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday, May 11, 2021 after the Colonial Pipeline shut down because of a cyberattack on Friday. The pipeline delivers about 45 per cent of the fuel consumed on the East Coast of the U.S. (Woody Marshall/Associated Press)
Still, the pace of attacks by foreign actors has increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, she added.
“We’re definitely seeing a rise in cyber crime or people that are potentially passionate toward the cause of the Russians rather than Ukrainians, who are perhaps wanting to leverage these opportunities to do harm to those that are mostly supporting Ukraine,” she said.
Steve Waterhouse, a cybersecurity expert and information security lecturer at Université de Sherbrooke, told CBC in April that the Hydro-Quebec attack did not seem to be about gaining access or acquiring information — “at least not at this time.”
“It’s really just to protest against Canada’s involvement with Ukraine,” he said.
3 authorizations for cyber operations
In 2019, Canada armed the CSE with the legal ability to strike back against cyberattackers, although such actions require authorization from the minister of defence.
The CSE has disclosed that in 2021, it received three authorizations for cyber operations. (It may disclose further operations in its 2022 annual report.)
“We have used our foreign cyber operations in terms of disrupting what we would see as cybercriminals potentially wanting to target some of our Government of Canada systems,” Xavier told Cullen.
Xavier did not provide additional details about the nature of the operations. According to its annual report, CSE’s actions disrupted the efforts of foreign-based extremists to “recruit Canadian nationals … operate online” and “disseminate violent extremist material.”
“The when and where we do it is not something we’re able to discuss,” Xavier said.
Caroline Xavier, chief of the Communications Security Establishment, speaks with the CBC’s Catherine Cullen at the CSE’s visitor centre on June 21, 2023. (Jean-Francois Benoit/CBC)
She also declined to say which groups or organizations — or countries — have been targeted by those actions, and downplayed the importance of the specific target.
“My focus tends to be [on] wanting to ensure that I’m following through on the actual action, versus being consumed on exactly who the actor is at that moment in time,” she said.
Canada’s intelligence agencies have repeatedly identified China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as the primary foreign threats in the cybersecurity sphere.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.
The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.
McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.
The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.
The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.
San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.
BRUSSELS – Canada walked away with some hardware at the Diamond League track and field competition Saturday.
Alysha Newman finished third in women’s pole vault, while Marco Arop did the same in the men’s 800-metre race.
Newman won a bronze medal in her event at the recent Paris Olympics. Arop grabbed silver at the same distance in France last month.
Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who captured gold at the Summer Games, again finished atop the podium. Sandi Morris of the United States was second.
Newman set a national record when she secured Canada’s first-ever pole vault medal with a bronze at the Olympics with a height of 4.85 metres. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.80 metres in her second attempt Saturday, but was unable conquer 4.88 metres on three attempts.
Arop, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, finished the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute 43.25 seconds. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya was first with a time of 1:42.70.
Djamel Sedjati, edged out by Arop for silver in Paris last month, was second 1:42.87
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.
Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.
Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.
AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.
Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.
Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.
Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.
Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.
Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.
Unbeaten sides
Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.
Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.
On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.
Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.
The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.
Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
