OTTAWA – Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, confirmed yesterday that his office and the Senate had been targeted in a cyberattack, believed to be carried out by Russian hackers. The Prime Minister also acknowledged a previous cyberattack on a Canadian energy company. However, he stated that no physical damage had been caused.
According to leaked Pentagon documents, a group affiliated with Russia’s spy agency claimed to have disrupted operations at a Canadian natural-gas pipeline company earlier this year. The documents also revealed that the Russia-based hackers had boasted of causing profit loss to the company.
While Trudeau made no mention of any economic damage caused by the attacks, national security experts noted the leaked documents’ content. Cyberattacks can result in not only physical but also economic harm, as was the case with the pipeline company.
Officials with the Canadian government have confirmed that the government is taking the cyberattacks seriously and is working to identify the perpetrators. Cybersecurity has become a growing concern for governments worldwide as cyberattacks increase in frequency and sophistication.
