Back to news

April 9, 2019 | Local, C4ISR, Security

A cyber war has started and Canada isn't ready to fight it, says report

Murray Brewster · CBC News

Analysis says Canada lagging far behind its allies in responding to cyber warfare threat

A new report questions how well prepared the Canadian military and the federal government are to fight a cyber war that, for all intents and purposes, has started already.

The Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), which represents major weapons and high-tech manufacturers, warns in a new report that, despite recent investments and policy papers, the country is lagging far behind its allies in preparing to fight a new kind of war.

"The cyber threat to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) permeates domestically through vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure, combat systems and equipment, and extends to where the military is deployed abroad," said the association's report, released Thursday.

"Russia have proven their ability to launch attacks that cripple critical systems in seconds or quietly collect intelligence for years. The CAF has only recently received approval to engage in active and offensive operations at scale (though specialized activity has been present for years)."

'A genuine sense of urgency'

To compile the report, researchers at CADSI conducted 70 interviews with government and military officials, as well as defence industry leaders.

Christyn Cianfarani, the association's president, said the feedback was frank.

"There's a genuine sense of urgency for Canada to advance in this space," she said. Even if the public doesn't feel the country is vulnerable, she added, "we could stand to be vulnerable by not moving forward very quickly."

The report comes just weeks after a House of Commons committee heard that online attacks on Canada's financial system and other key infrastructure could become far more destructive as more militaries around the globe get involved in cyber operations.

That testimony came from security expert and former CIA analyst Christopher Porter, an executive at the U.S. cyber security company Fireeye, Inc.

He said the west's imposition of sanctions on "some countries" has in the past been met with denial-of-service attacks on financial services websites, but those attacks have only been disruptive.

"In the future, they may respond with destructive attacks," he testified on Feb. 6.

Cianfarani echoed that warning.

"I think, if you look, other nations are attacking Canada," she said. "Other nations aren't just attacking Canada in a short-game play. They are attacking Canada and trying to influence things in our country in a long-game play."

The defence association report also took aim at the federal government's ponderous procurement system, noting that adversaries and allies have "demonstrated their ability to deploy new cyber capabilities in months or weeks, while the CAF remains burdened by a years-long and sometimes decades-long procurement cycle."

Time to 'blow up' the procurement system?

Cianfarani said the procurement system has to "be blown up" and "torn apart" when it comes to acquiring cyber equipment and services.

It should take six months, not 10 years, to get those kinds of products into the hands of cyber operators, she added.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan's office declined comment and referred CBC News to the Communications Security Establishment, which defends the federal government's networks.

While CSE spokesman Evan Koronewski did not address the specific criticisms in the industry association report, he pointed to the creation of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, which brings "operational security experts from across the Government of Canada under one roof" — something that is expected to deliver a more unified approach.

"Although we cannot speak specifically to the Cyber Centre's capabilities, we are confident our men and women have the tools they need to deliver on their mission," Koronewski said in an email.

The study found "government and industry lack the mutual trust required to effectively collaborate in the cyber defence of Canada" and proposed a series of remedies.

"This distrust has been sown over time through a history of unproductive engagements, limited communications and inadequate mutual understanding of each other's capabilities," said the analysis.

The Council of Canadian Innovators has delivered a similar message to the federal government on many occasions over the last two years, but Cianfarani said she believes that the upcoming federal election and the possibility of interference in it — foreign or otherwise — will focus the attention of both the public and decision-makers.

"I think around an election is probably when we have the loudest voice, and it's when we're probably, as a country, the most vulnerable," she said.

The report pointed to other countries, such as the United States, where cyber defence strategies are primarily driven by industry, supported by the academic community and funded by the government without bureaucratic limitations.

"A similar approach for Canada could mobilize a strong, sovereign line of defence against rapidly evolving cyber threats," the report said.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/a-cyber-war-has-started-and-canada-isn-t-ready-to-fight-it-says-report-1.5045950

On the same subject

  • Canada Mimics Marine Corps Makeover For F/A-18C/D Fleet

    June 25, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval

    Canada Mimics Marine Corps Makeover For F/A-18C/D Fleet

    Steve Trimble As Canada's CF-18 fleet enters an unexpected fourth decade of service, the details of a nearly $1 billion upgrade package are settled. With operators in Europe, the Middle East and Asia looking on, an upgrade package approved by the State Department on June 16 for up to 36 Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) F/A-18C/Ds cements a new configuration aimed at keeping the Boeing-made jets in service decades beyond their planned retirement dates. A group of Raytheon-made sensors and weapons—APG-79(v)4 active, electronically scanned array radars, AIM-9X Block II air-to-air missiles and AGM-154C Joint Standoff Weapons—will be included in the RCAF's newly defined Phase 2 upgrade to help keep a subset of the 94-member CF-18 fleet operating into the 2030s. The State Department previously cleared Canada to acquire 32 AIM-120D advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles for the CF-18. The package, defined in a Defense Security Cooperation Agency notification to Congress on June 16, offers few surprises. The Phase 2 Hornet Extension Program will be closely aligned with a U.S. Marine Corps initiative to keep at least two squadrons of F/A-18C/Ds in service beyond 2029, as both the Marines and the RCAF have waited longer than expected for a replacement jet to arrive. The U.S. Navy tipped the radar selection for the RCAF in a June 11 presolicitation notice that specified the APG-79(v)4, showing an intent to prevent Northrop Grumman from offering the APG-83 for the Canadian program. The Marines evaluated the APG-83 and the APG-79 two years ago, but selected the latter as the successor to the Raytheon APG-73 for the “classic” Hornet fleet. “Partnering with the [Marines], who are completing the same radar upgrade, will enable the introduction of this new capability faster, more efficiently and at reduced cost for both services,” the Canadian Department of National Defense (DND) tells Aviation Week in a statement. The upgrades by the Canadians and the U.S. Marines are driven by the same issue. A delayed delivery schedule for the Lockheed Martin F-35B has forced the Marines to keep a fleet of Legacy F/A-18s in service for a decade longer than planned. The Canadian government's 11-year-old pursuit of a CF-18 replacement (highlighted by failed attempts to acquire 65 Lockheed Martin F-35As in 2010 and an interim fleet of 18 Boeing F/A-18E/F aircraft in 2016) is still in competition mode, with a contract award for 88 fighters due in 2022. Three bidding teams—F/A-18E/F, F-35A and the Saab JAS 39 Gripen—must submit final bids by July 31, which includes a one-month delay to account for the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry. “These [CF-18] upgrades will provide a capability bridge until transition to a permanent replacement fighter,” the DND says. Canada's fighter delays have not been easy for the RCAF to manage. The current fleet, acquired in the early 1980s, was originally expected to be retired in the early 2000s. A retirement date in 2020 fell through as the government of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper stalled on signing the contract for the controversial F-35A selection. The new administration of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pushed the selection process to 2022. The CF-18 is now set for retirement in 2032. The situation is different in Finland. Although the Finnish Air Force operates the youngest fleet of F/A-18C/Ds, the head of the HX fighter competition has roundly rejected calls to extend their service life into the 2030s, saying even a few extra years of operations would cost at least €1.2 billion ($1.35 billion). The State Department cleared the RCAF to buy 50 infrared-guided AIM-9X Block II missiles, 38 APG-79(v)4 radars and 20 AGM-154C glide bombs as part of an overall package worth $862 million. The bundle includes electronic equipment, tactical data and support. The CAD$1.3 billion ($960 million) CF-18 Hornet Enhancement Program is divided in two phases. Phase 1 updates all 94 aircraft, including 18 former Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18C/Ds acquired two years ago, with interoperability and regulatory upgrades, including a new GPS/international navigation system, Identification Friend or Foe transponder, Link 16 tactical radios, satellite communications, targeting pod modifications and improved helmets. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/canada-mimics-marine-corps-makeover-fa-18cd-fleet

  • Military search and rescue missions delayed by aircraft, refuelling problems: report

    March 10, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Security

    Military search and rescue missions delayed by aircraft, refuelling problems: report

    A new Department of National Defence report says military search-and-rescue personnel were delayed and in some cases unable to provide emergency assistance on about one in 20 of the hundreds of calls they received last year. While some of the problems related to bad weather, animals on runways and having to wait for provincial medical teams to arrive, more than half were attributed to refuelling issues and breakdowns on the military's ancient search-and-rescue aircraft. The Canadian Armed Forces says the refuelling problems and breakdowns, which afflicted a total of 20 search-and-rescue missions, did not lead to any deaths. Yet they do raise questions about the military's ability to respond quickly to potentially life-threatening emergencies given the age of its search-and-rescue aircraft, some of which entered service in 1967. The Royal Canadian Air Force officially accepted the first of 16 new search-and-rescue planes from European manufacturer Airbus in December, but the aircraft is still in Spain where it was built and has yet to make the trip to Canada. The government has also said it plans to replace the air force's aging air-to-air refuelling tankers, but the first replacement isn't expected until 2028 at the earliest. https://globalnews.ca/news/6650860/military-search-rescue-mission-problems/

  • Bombardier Defense delivers Global 6000 to Saab’s GlobalEye program - Skies Mag

    July 19, 2023 | Local, Aerospace

    Bombardier Defense delivers Global 6000 to Saab’s GlobalEye program - Skies Mag

    The Global 6000 aircraft is ready to be transformed by Saab into its Airborne Early Warning and Control solution known as GlobalEye.

All news