OTTAWA–The Liberals are proposing new powers for Canada’s electronic spies to launch cyber attacks against foreign individuals, terrorist groups, and even nation states. The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) has traditionally been limited to electronic espionage and defending Canada’s networks against hostile actors. But the Liberals’ sweeping national security overhaul, Bill C-59, would change that.Tabled by Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale on Tuesday, C-59 would give CSE the explicit mandate to go on the offensive. “Canadians expect us to have all the necessary tools to protect our infrastructure and our security,” Harjit Sajjan, the minister responsible for CSE, told reporters Tuesday.“This (legislation) now provides direct clarity, in terms of what CSE can do, but also the ability to provide assistance to various agencies . . . , but, at the same time, utilize their unique capabilities within a strict approval process.” The agency’s new offensive mandate is broad. With the go-ahead from the ministers of defence and global affairs, CSE can engage in a variety of offensive actions such as shutting down servers or disrupting information flowing online. Agency officials, who briefed reporters on the condition they not be named, stressed they don’t expect to frequently resort to offensive actions. Instead, the officials suggested cyber attacks would be a last resort, only taken if Canadian intelligence agencies could see no other way to achieve their goal. Nevertheless, the new powers, coupled with a new job category of “cyber operator” within the military, seem to be an acknowledgement from the Canadian government of the growing importance of cyber warfare. There are signs that even CSE is not quite sure how this will all play out. Officials could not say how, or if, the Canadian public will be informed about cyber attacks conducted in its name. Unlike conventional ...
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