Canadians being targeted by intelligence services

According to a report issued on Friday by the country’s intelligence agency, “hostile intelligence agencies” linked to the governments of China and Russia continue to target Canadians for “intelligence collection and asset recruitment.”

China “relies on non-traditional collectors- individuals without formal intelligence training who have relevant subject matter expertise (i.e. scientists, business people), including those who are recruited via talent programmes (i.e. scholarships, sponsored trips, visiting professorships, etc.) and other non-transparent means in Canada,” according to the CSIS’s Public Report 2021, which was tabled in parliament on Friday.

It used China’s Thousand Talents Plan as an example, saying that cyber actors linked to the Chinese government “continue to target multiple critical sectors within Canada.” The Thousand Talents Plan was launched by the Chinese government in 2008 to bring back leading scientists and engineers from abroad.

The paper also warns of similar Russian efforts, particularly in light of the attack on Ukraine. According to the report, Russian military and intelligence institutions are “involved in information battles targeting Ukraine,” including “the distribution of disinformation and propaganda aiming to represent Ukraine and Nato as aggressors in the current war.”

It also accused Russia’s foreign intelligence service (SVR) of installing backdoors “into the networks of thousands of government and commercial sector clients” using malware. Hundreds of Canadian organisations downloaded a corrupted version of the programme, jeopardising personal information and intellectual property.”

The CSIS was aware of the potential consequences of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August of last year. “Transnational terrorist organisations, such as Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), have continued to operate the country,” according to the study.

“There is a risk that Al Qaeda would once again regard Afghanistan as a secure training ground,” it said, despite their current operations being constrained. The Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-KP), which is associated with Daesh, “will have the capability to execute foreign assaults in the near future and are extremely motivated to do so,” according to the report.

According to CSIS, Chinese-backed criminals exploited Microsoft Exchange servers indiscriminately last year, putting tens of thousands of Canadian businesses at risk. “Governments, think tanks, academic institutions, infectious disease researchers, legal firms, defence contractors, and merchants were among the victims.”

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