Global Courant 2023-04-11 21:17:55
The agency that oversees cybersecurity for the federal government says it is aware of reports that hackers have taken some government websites offline just as Canada is hosting Ukraine’s prime minister.
The website of the Prime Minister’s Office did not load on Tuesday morning. The Senate website experienced problems on Monday.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal visits Toronto. The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) says it is not unusual to see attacks on countries hosting Ukrainian officials.
A pro-Russian hacking group has claimed credit for both attacks.
“While these incidents attract attention, they have very little impact on affected systems,” Robyn Hawco, a spokesperson for the Communications Security Establishment, said in an email.
“CSE and its Canadian Center for Cyber Security have found that it is not uncommon to see distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against countries that receive visits from Ukrainian government officials.”
Hawco said the Canadian government, “like every other government and private organization in the world,” is a target for ongoing cyber threats and is working with other departments “to ensure systems and tools are in place to monitor potential threats, to detect and investigate. and to neutralize threats when they arise.”
CSE warned of retaliation by Russian-aligned hackers
Earlier this year, the agency called for a “heightened state of vigilance” against the threat of retaliatory cyberattacks by Russian-affiliated hackers.
That warning came hours after Ottawa promised to give Ukraine four Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks, and after another Russia-aligned cybercrime group vowed to go after countries that support Ukraine in the ongoing war.
Germany recently experienced its own DDoS attack by hackers targeting government sites and airports.
That country’s security agency, BSI, said some financial sector targets were also hit, but the hits had little effect.
Nancy Faeser, Germany’s interior minister, warned her country is in “enormous danger” from Russian sabotage.
“Cybersecurity concerns have been exacerbated by the war,” she said in February. “Attacks by pro-Russian hackers have increased.”
Moscow denied carrying out the hacking operation.
