Canada vulnerable to cyber-attacks: CSIS
Government, university, and industry at risk, memo says
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CBC News has obtained a heavily censored briefing note under an access to information request showing that Canada’s spy agency has warned that cyber-attacks on government, university and industry computers has been growing “substantially,” the news agency reports. Canada’s energy, financial and telecommunications systems all are increasingly vulnerable, according to the June 2009 memo from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, or CSIS. “In addition to being virtually unattributable, these remotely operated attacks offer a productive, secure and low-risk means to conduct espionage,” the CSIS briefing says. The federal government’s March throne speech pledged a cyber security strategy, but Canada still has no official plan for responding to coordinated cyber-attacks. Public Safety Canada did not respond to CBC’s interview requests.