Canadian businesses and other similar large organizations might want to secure cyber insurance now – not just to protect themselves against data breaches caused by domestic hackers, but from foreign ones as well.
The nation’s foreign affairs minister is urging Canadians to brace themselves for any destabilization efforts Russia might attempt on the country.
The minister’s warnings come after US intelligence agencies alleged that Russia had hacked and leaked emails of the Democratic Party during the 2016 US presidential election campaign in an effort to sway the vote in Donald Trump’s favor; Moscow has denied any involvement in the matter.
“It is public knowledge that there have been efforts, as US intelligence forces have said, by Russia to destabilize the US political system,” Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told the press in Parliament.
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“I think that Canadians and, indeed, other Western countries should be prepared for similar efforts to be directed at us.”
During Question Period in Parliament, Freeland was asked if Russia launched a smear campaign against her after negative articles appeared on pro-Russia media related to her grandfather of Ukrainian descent. Freeland is also an outspoken critic of the Kremlin, and has been barred from entering Russia.
The federal government on Monday said that it would renew a military training mission in Ukraine for another two years, The Independent reported.
Canada, under the former Conservative government, previously sent about 200 troops to Ukraine in 2015 to help train the latter’s troops in combatting Russian-backed separatists. According to Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan, more than 3,200 soldiers have been trained through this arrangement since.
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