CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
After the issue around when parliamentarians were informed was raised in the House of Commons on Monday, CSE spokesperson Ryan Foreman told CTV News on Tuesday that CSE shared "specific, actionable technical information on this threat," with both House and Senate IT officials.
"As would be our normal process with other Government of Canada partners when threats are detected," Foreman said. "Once the FBI report was received by Canada’s security agencies, the information that included the names of the targeted parliamentarians was shared immediately."
"Questions related to how MPs are engaged on situations like this would be best addressed by HoC officials," he added, in an updated statement after another spokesperson indicated that in this case, the House "briefed and informed MPs with a general message."
It's not clear what that general message entailed.
Conservative MP Garnett Genuis said on Monday that he and other members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) – of which Genuis co-chairs – only learned their email accounts were targeted last week, following the unsealing of a U.S. Department of Justice indictment in March.
"I find that is disgraceful," Liberal MP Judy Sgro told CTV News Tuesday. Sgro was one of the parliamentarians affected by the hacking incident but was never informed of it by House of Commons staff.
Sgro was told House of Commons officials did a check of the firewall system and then sent an email to all 338 MPs asking them to pay attention to their computer systems to avoid being hacked.
"I want to know how much of a threat I'm under," Sgro said. "I would have expected that my IP address would have been changed. I would have felt much better. But that didn't happen."
The CSE said its engagement with the House of Commons and the Senate began before the agency received the FBI report, as the agency had been tracking and helping to protect their network and users against threats to their systems.
House says no cybersecurity impacts
The CSE and its Canadian Centre for Cyber Security share information on potential and emerging cybersecurity threats with Parliament on an ongoing basis, said Mathieu Gravel, a spokesperson for the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons.
"The House employs layers of robust cybersecurity protections and monitoring programs to ensure the integrity of the parliamentary environment and works closely with national security partners to detect and mitigate threats," Gravel said in a statement to CTV News.
In this case, he adds, the agency determined that the risk-mitigation measures had successfully prevented any attack, and that there were no cybersecurity impacts to any members or their communications. As of Monday night, another MP impacted, fellow IPAC co-chair John McKay did not appear to be aware of this.
"I just don't know the nature of the threat, I've had it explained to me," he said. "It's kind of a bizarre situation to be in."
According to the unsealed U.S. Department of Justice documents, around January 2021, the hackers sent in excess of 1,000 emails to more than 400 unique accounts of individuals associated with IPAC.
LeBlanc asks for exact chronology
Genuis says members of IPAC were told that U.S. intelligence officials with the FBI were not permitted to inform targeted legislators from other countries. However, foreign dissemination requests were issued to every government with impacted political figures in 2022.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters on his way into cabinet on Tuesday morning that he has asked his department for an exact chronology of when the information about the hacking was received, which agency received it and if they followed the proper protocols.
"The information I have, I'm not prepared to say that no notifications were given. We're determining the exact facts of what happened a couple of years ago," Leblanc said.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
Conservatives, NDP should be 'celebrating' EV deals: industry minister
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says federal opposition parties should be 'celebrating' the recently announced electric vehicle deals, despite their criticisms the Liberals refuse to make public the terms and conditions laid out in the contracts.
Banking mogul suing government after intelligence leaks leave him shut out of Canadian economy
Chinese Canadian banking mogul Shenglin Xian has launched a $300 million lawsuit against the federal government. It’s a means to find the source of intelligence leaks which Xian says has cost him his livelihood.
His SUV was stolen on Montreal's South Shore. Then he got a $156 parking ticket
A couple is frustrated after their SUV was stolen from Montreal's South Shore in March and they received a parking ticket for the same vehicle last week.
Jesus is their saviour, Trump is their candidate. Ex-president's backers say he shares faith, values
As Donald Trump increasingly infuses his campaign with Christian trappings while coasting to a third Republican presidential nomination, his support is as strong as ever among evangelicals and other conservative Christians.
Box tree moths have infested Ontario and experts say more are coming. Here's what to do to protect your garden
An invasive moth species is on the rise in Canada and, if you've planted a certain shrub, it could stand to ruin your garden.
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
VIA Rail service delayed for hours due to suspicious package investigation in Kingston, Ont.
VIA Rail service resumed in the Kingston, Ont. area late Saturday afternoon, after a suspicious package investigation halted train service for more than four hours over the Victoria Day long weekend.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
Local Spotlight
'Another pair of eyes watching over me:' How a B.C. woman's service dog saved her from drowning
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
Starbucks fan on decades-long journey to visit every store in the world
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
'Sacred work': Sask. First Nation learning how to conduct its own underground searches
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
'It could mean a cure': Cautious optimism for groundbreaking ALS research at Western
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
B.C. musician's song catches attention of Canucks
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
'We're on standby': Team ready to help entangled right whale in Gulf of St. Lawrence
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Thieves caught on camera stealing pet chicken from North Vancouver backyard
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
'Reimagining Mother's Day': Toronto woman creates Motherless Day event after losing mom
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.