Chinese government-backed hackers have compromised at least 20 Canadian government networks over the last four years, Canada’s top cyber agency said Wednesday.
Calling the threat from China in cyberspace “second to none,” the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) said Beijing’s operations “serve high-level political and commercial objectives, including espionage, IP theft, malign influence, and transnational repression.”
Summarized in its National Cyber Threat Assessment 2025-2026, a biennial report intended to warn the public of threats and to guide cybersecurity strategy, the CCCS said Canadian critical infrastructure, industry — including the research and development sector — and government agencies have all been targeted by Chinese actors.
“Provincial and territorial governments are likely a valuable target given that they have decision-making power over regional trade and commerce, including resource extraction (e.g., energy and critical minerals),” the agency said.
Of particular concern to the Canadian government is attempts to conduct espionage on the country’s “innovation ecosystem,” including academic research, government-connected research and development and the private sector.
As “economic tensions rise” between Canada and China, they said, so too will the intensity of espionage activities around the innovation sector. Read the full story.
Rajesh Dhawan is a technology professional who loves to write about Cyber-security events and stories, Cloud computing and Microsoft technologies. He loves to break complex problems into manageable chunks of meaningful information.