Lhe Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been the target of a major cyberattack, the North American country’s federal cybersecurity agencies confirmed on Monday, January 24. The attack, which occurred on Wednesday, January 19, is important: part of the ministry’s site was still not accessible on Monday evening. In a statement, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat said online services for diplomats are among the features still down.
The day after this attack, the Canadian Center for Cyber Security (CCC) warned that critical infrastructure in the country could be the target of cyberattacks, particularly from Russia. Federal agencies, however, said Monday that they did not know where the attack came from.
READ ALSOCyberattack: Ukraine has “clues” of Russian involvement
“At this time, there is no indication that other departments have been affected by this incident,” says the Canadian Treasury Board, which indicates that the “Canadian government faces continuous and persistent cyber threats every day” . They “may result from system or application vulnerabilities, or from deliberate, persistent and targeted attacks by outside actors to access information,” the statement added.
Tensions are growing around Ukraine, which Westerners believe is under threat of a Russian invasion. In recent days, Kiev has claimed to have “evidence” of Moscow’s involvement in a large-scale cyberattack that targeted several Ukrainian government sites. The Kremlin has denied any Russian involvement.
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