OTTAWA—Canada is going all-in when it comes to cyberwarfare.
Weeks after giving the military permission to start developing cyberweapons and other offensive capabilities, the Trudeau government wants to issue a similar directive to Canada’s electronic spy agency.
New national security legislation unveiled on June 20 would, among other things, let the Communications Security Establishment launch cyberattacks against foreign targets. Those would include potential threats ranging from hackers and terrorists to countries and governments.
The 70-year-old agency’s existing mandate includes protecting computer systems that are deemed critical by the federal government, and only allows for the collection of information from foreign targets.
Those responsibilities would continue under the proposed legislation.
The changes being introduced by the government are necessary to protect Canada in the 21st century, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who is responsible for overseeing the agency, told a news conference.
“Currently we only have a defensive shield,” he said. “We have to wait to be hit.”
The spy agency is also being tapped to help the Canadian military when it comes to developing the latter’s ability to fight online, which was included as part of the Liberal government’s recently released defence policy.
