25 Mar 2015

New Snowden Documents Expose Canada’s Hidden Cyber Warfare Strength

On Monday, CBC News and The Intercept collaboratively disclosed for the very first time how Canada has endorsed aggressive strategies for attacking, sabotaging and infiltrating their targeted computers. Thanks to New Snowden Documents.
The Intercept obtained documents from the famous National Security Agency (NSA) whistle-blower Edward Snowden
As per the new documents, Canada’s electronic surveillance agency has covertly developed an array of cyber weaponry that can not only steal but destroy data and the infrastructure of its adversaries.

CSE or Communications Security Establishment also has secretly infiltrated computers around the world from Europe to Mexico and the Middle East to North Africa for gathering intelligence info.
The backdrop of these sudden revelations is Canada’s argument over whether to allow more powers and authority to its spies for disrupting prevalent threats under the controversial Bill C-51, the anti-terrorism law.
The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab surveillance expert Christopher Parsons informed CBC News that the latest revelations depict that Canada has already turned its computer networks into “a battlefield without any Canadian being asked: Should it be done? How should it be done?”

The documents also revealed that CSE has developed wide range of tools that are powerful enough to perform “computer network exploitation” and “computer network attack” actions. These actions involve hacking networks for damaging the infrastructures of opponents primarily of electricity, transportation and banking sectors.
One of the documents was produced in 2011 and had details about the variety of procedures adopted by CSE as its “cyber activity spectrum” for both perpetrating and defending cyberattacks.
In that particular document CSE can be seen admitting that its cyberdivision can “disable adversary infrastructure,” “control adversary infrastructure,” or “destroy adversary infrastructure ”via its highly advanced attack tactics. It also was capable of inserting “malware implants” on opponents’ computers for stealing confidential data.
The document also informs that the CSE can access an array of sophisticated malware tools that were developed by the NSA during the QUANTUM program.

 NSA’s classified briefing paper compiled during 2013 described Canada as a vital player in international hacking operations. The paper notes that both NSA and CSE cooperate closely on “active computer network access and exploitation on a variety of foreign intelligence targets, including CT [counter terrorism], Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and Mexico.”

https://www.hackread.com/new-snowden-documents-expose-canadas-hidden-cyber-warfare-strength/ 

Briefing paper :https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1690227/odni3march2015-canada-v1-0.pdf