{"id":2034878,"date":"2024-11-01T12:44:35","date_gmt":"2024-11-01T16:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/securityboulevard.com\/?p=2034878"},"modified":"2024-11-01T12:44:35","modified_gmt":"2024-11-01T16:44:35","slug":"canada-china-cccs-richixbw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/securityboulevard.com\/2024\/11\/canada-china-cccs-richixbw\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00d4! China Hacks Canada too, Says CCCS"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Canadian<\/a>Canadian Centre for Cyber Security fingers Chinese state\u202f\u202fsponsored\u202f\u202fhackers.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Canada\u2019s CISA equivalent calls China\u2019s security threat \u201cexpansive and aggressive.\u201d<\/strong> Beijing backed groups represent \u201cthe most sophisticated and active cyber threat to Canada,\u201d having compromised 20 or more<\/em> government networks in the past four years.
\n
\nSo says a report produced by the agency.<\/strong> In today\u2019s SB\u202f\u202fBlogwatch<\/a>, we stand on guard for thee.
\n
\nYour humble blog\u00adwatcher<\/a> curated these bloggy bits for your enter\u00adtain\u00adment. Not to mention:\u202f\u202fKanji<\/i>.
\n<\/p>\n

Plus Brillants Exploits<\/em><\/h2>\n

What\u2019s the craic, eh?<\/strong> James Reddick reports: Chinese state-backed hackers breached 20 Canadian government networks over four years<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSilence and surveil<\/tt>\u201d<\/strong>
\nCalling the threat from China in cyberspace \u201csecond to none,\u201d\u202f\u2026\u202fCCCS said Beijing\u2019s operations \u201cserve high-level political and commercial objectives, including espionage, IP theft, malign influence, and transnational repression.\u201d [Its report] said Canadian critical infrastructure, indus\u00adtry\u202f\u2026\u202fand government agencies have all been targeted by Chinese actors.
\n\u2026
\nCCCS warned that over the last few months a Chinese threat actor has been conducting reconnaissance scans against a range of Canadian networks, including those belonging to political parties, the parliament and civil society organizations. [It] warned the scanning was likely an attempt to discover vulnerabilities.
\n\u2026
\nState-sponsored hackers are also \u201cvery likely\u201d to be supporting China\u2019s efforts to silence and surveil the diaspora and civil society abroad, including through the use of spearphishing emails and spyware against the Uyghur minority group in Canada and elsewhere. Other tar\u00adgets\u202f\u2026\u202finc\u00adlude Falun Gong supporters, Taiwanese independence supporters and Tibetan pro-democracy activists.
\n<\/p>\n

What did they do?<\/strong> James Coker has one highlight: Canadian Government Data Stolen By Chinese Hackers<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDestructive cyber operations<\/tt>\u201d<\/strong>
\nAt least 20 Canadian government networks have been compromised by Chinese state-sponsored threat actors, who have maintained access over the past four years to steal valuable data. \u2026 It is believed the attackers dedicated significant time and resources to learn about the target networks. \u2026 The report described the PRC as the \u201cmost sophisticated and active cyber threat to Canada.\u201d
\n\u2026
\nCanada\u2019s Minister of National Defence, Bill Blair, described a \u201csharp increase\u201d in both the number and severity of cyber incidents in Canada over the past two years, many of which target essential services. \u2026 Similarly to the US, state actors are \u201cpre-positioning\u201d themselves in critical infrastructure networks in Canada for possible disruptive or destructive cyber oper\u00ada\u00adtions, [CCCS] wrote.
\n<\/p>\n

Horse\u2019s mouth?<\/strong> CCCS head, Rajiv Gupta: National Cyber Threat Assessment 2025-2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding a safer, more secure Canada<\/tt>\u201d<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s hard to believe it\u2019s already been two years since our last report. At first glance, it seems that the cyber threat environment hasn\u2019t changed much. [But] state adversaries are getting bolder and more aggressive.
\n\u2026
\nWhile our assessments describe trends that should concern anyone who reads about them,\u202f\u2026\u202fI hope that it also encourages you to reflect on what you can do to contribute to our collective resilience. After all, we all have a role to play in building a safer, more secure Canada.
\n<\/p>\n

Very Canadian.<\/strong> u\/consistantcanadian<\/a> is consistently pedagogic:<\/p>\n

Every hacking organization on the planet is scanning every machine, all the time. This is how modern day “hacking” works. There’s a bunch of known exploits and they scan till they find a machine that’s exposed.
\n\u2026
\nIf you run a website, even one you’ve never told anyone about, you can look at your logs and you will see requests for all kinds of random ****. That’s Russia\/China\/etc. “scanning your cyber security defenses.”
\n<\/p>\n

20 networks, though\u2014is this surprising?<\/strong> This Anonymous Coward<\/a> isn\u2019t surprised:<\/p>\n

Not surprising. If you pay taxes in Canada you likely know about how clunky and inefficient the government websites are. Not surprised at all if hackers got into gov networks. Wouldn’t be surprised\u202f\u2026\u202fif insiders deliberately made it easier for outsiders to get in. Canadians tend to be very trusting and generally incapable of thinking anyone doesn’t have Canadian interests at heart.
\n<\/p>\n

O RLY?<\/strong> rgjnk<\/a>, too, ponders an \u201cinside job:\u201d<\/p>\n

Given the widely publicised links between various Canadian politicians and officials and certain countries<\/i>,\u202f\u2026\u202fit’s just as likely the attackers were let straight in through the front door as having broken in. Canada is a definite target and it’s also deeply compromised, and its Government from the top down seems to have little interest in fixing that.
\n<\/p>\n

Wait, what? Who has some context for us?<\/strong> Daniel Dorman does: Chinese agents are running Canada<\/a><\/p>\n

Canadian democracy is in serious trouble. \u2026 Not only has China extensively interfered in Canadian institutions (particularly during the last federal election), but [also] Members of Parliament have willingly colluded with various foreign powers against Canada\u2019s interests for personal benefit. The story grows stranger by the day.
\n\u2026
\nChina\u2019s interference in Canada\u2019s democratic process\u202f\u2026\u202finclude the creation of community organisations to interfere in specific electoral districts, the defrauding of a nomination election to install a pro-China candidate, and the practice of Chinese proxies skirting election finance laws by encouraging individuals to donate to a specific candidate with a promise they will be paid back.
\n\u2026
\nCanadians risk of losing track of just how serious the threat is. \u2026 Canadian democracy is flatlining.
\n<\/p>\n

Although<\/strong> fluffernutter<\/a> has a more prosaic critique:<\/p>\n

Also there’s the fact that they regularly promote people to IT because they know spreadsheet macros and speak French.
\n<\/p>\n

Meanwhile,<\/strong> u\/ShiftyGorillla<\/a> ROTFLs:<\/p>\n

Our cyber defenses are a group of university students doing a goodwill project \ud83e\udd23
\n<\/p>\n

And Finally:<\/h4>\n

Japanese literal translations are \u2026 weird<\/i><\/a><\/b>