Hostile countries, China and Russia are targeting Canadian activists, journalists, security agency says

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Hostile countries, a group that includes China and Russia, are targeting foreign nationals and diaspora populations in Canada, as well as activists and journalists, according to the Canadian Security Establishment.

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“State-sponsored cyberthreat actors almost certainly” target those groups in order “to monitor and control these individuals,” Canada’s cyber defense agency said in a new report. The tools they use include “content monitoring on foreign-based applications, social media-enabled activity and espionage against individuals using spyware.”

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Such activity “likely threatens individuals’ safety and security, in addition to increasing distrust and polarization in Canadian society.”

The new National Cyber Threat Assessment updates an earlier report published in 2020, where CSE flagged China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as the biggest threats. CSE said in the new report released Friday that those countries “continue to pose the greatest strategic cyber threat to Canada.”

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CSE said states can target Canadians as part of wider, global campaigns. “State actors can target diaspora populations and activists in Canada, Canadian organizations and their intellectual property for espionage, and even Canadian individuals and organizations for financial gain,” the report said.

The report said China, Russia, Iran and North Korea also pose a threat to Canadian businesses. “It is likely that over the next two years, these states will continue to target sectors of importance for their own domestic economic development. That said, the threat from China is very likely the most significant by volume, capability, and assessed intent,” CSE said.

The organization also warned Canadians’ exposure to misinformation “will almost certainly increase” over the next two years.