Chinese threat actors recently hacked into the computer networks of the National Research Council (NRC) in Canada, the CIO of the Canadian government said on Tuesday.
The NRC is the Government of Canada’s research and technology organization which provides innovation support, strategic research, scientific and technical services to clients and partners.
While attribution is always difficult, Canada didn’t hold back in pointing fingers at China as being responsible for the attack.
“Recently, the Government of Canada, through the work of the Communications Security Establishment, detected and confirmed a cyber intrusion on the IT infrastructure of the National Research Council of Canada by a highly sophisticated Chinese state-sponsored actor,” Corinne Charette, Chief Information Officer for the Government of Canada, noted in statement.
While the attack was mainly targeted at the NRC, sources told Canada’s CTV News that it has wider implications as the government has converted 43 departments into a shared data service system.
“While the National Research Council’s networks do not currently operate within the broader Government of Canada network, since the detection and confirmation of the cyber intrusion, the National Research Council’s networks have been isolated from the broader Government of Canada network as a precautionary measure, Charette added.
Charette said there has been no evidence that data compromises have occurred on the broader Government of Canada network.