The federal privacy commissioner has opened an investigation into a data security breach detected in January at Global Affairs Canada. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner said Monday the investigation into the foreign service was launched after it received several complaints. The investigation will examine the adequacy of the safeguards to protect personal information and assess […]

Designated social media providers, live-streaming services and adult sites that allow users to upload content will have to scrutinize and delete objectionable messages, images, and videos if the Liberal government’s proposed Online Harms Act, which includes the creation of a Digital Safety Commission to hear complaints, is passed. The intent is to stop a range […]

One of Ontario’s biggest cities is in the second day of dealing with a cyber attack. Hamilton, a municipality of about 570,000 on the shore of Lake Ontario, said Sunday it had suffered a city-wide phone and email “disruption” to municipal and public library services, which included the Bus Check Info Line and the HSRNow […]

The theft of tax and employment records of 48,000 of Canadians four years ago was the fault of poor IT authentication security, says the country’s privacy commissioner. Attackers employed credential stuffing using previously stolen usernames and passwords to get into the IT systems of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Employment and Social Development Canada […]

Three federal government agencies failed to follow good management practices in the contracting, development, and implementation of the $59.5 million ArriveCAN application, Canada’s auditor general said today. As a result, concluded Auditor General Karen Hogan, it did not deliver the best value for taxpayer dollars spent. But Hogan also said the lack of documentation makes […]

The Canadian government’s proposed law forcing critical infrastructure providers to toughen their cybersecurity is “needed now more than ever,” an expert told a parliamentary committee on Monday. “We are far behind our allies” in protecting critical infrastructure firms, David Shipley, CEO of New Brunswick’s Beauceron Security and co-chair of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s cyber […]

The Canadian government is investigating what could be a major data breach at its foreign affairs department. CBC News says there is an investigation into what it calls a prolonged data security breach on the internal network of Global Affairs Canada. At least two internal hard drives, as well as emails, calendars and contacts of […]

Work on the second plank of the Liberal government’s cybersecurity and privacy strategy started Monday afternoon. That’s when the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security opened hearings on Bill C-26, which amends legislation governing telecommunications companies and creates the Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act (CCSPA). “This legislation is among the […]

After suffering serious ransomware attacks on its zoo and public library system, the city Toronto has decided to integrate its IT systems for better cybersecurity, the Toronto Star reports. “The city of Toronto’s main system is one of the most secure in North America, second to New York,” the news agency quotes Mayor Olivia Chow […]

Privacy commissioners from Alberta, B.C., and Quebec say the proposed overhaul of Canada’s federal privacy law shouldn’t add an appointed privacy tribunal to hear appeals of certain decisions made by the national privacy commissioner. Instead, they argued Tuesday before the House of Commons industry committee, any objections or appeals should go straight to a court […]

A parliamentary committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to investigate allegations that the government has used what some call “spyware” against federal employees. The House of Commons ethics and privacy committee voted to hear the heads of several federal departments and Treasury Board head Anita Anand next month on the use of digital data recovery and […]

Canada must quickly pass legislation to oversee social media platforms, says an expert in cybersecurity law, including appointing an independent regulator who can levy “hefty” financial penalties. “It is time to act now,” Emily Laidlaw, Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity Law at the University of Calgary, told a Parliamentary committee on Monday. “Platforms have tremendous […]

Catherine Luelo, Canada’s chief information officer, has announced her resignation, two years after taking up the job to modernize the technology systems of the federal government. Shortly after the news broke, Luelo appeared by videoconference as a previously scheduled witness before the House of Commons Ethics Committee’s hearings into the use of social media by […]

Canada’s privacy commissioner has opened an investigation into the theft of 24 years of data of federal employees from two government-contracted relocation firms. As we reported earlier this week, the Treasury Board said data as far back as 1999 on military, RCMP, and federal employees held by Brookfield Global Relocation Services (BGRS) and Sirva Canada, […]

Ottawa should consider squeezing the provinces to enact similar federal, provincial and territorial privacy laws across Canada, says a new paper from the C.D. Howe Institute, which argues commonality will benefit businesses and consumers. “The federal government should contemplate leveraging its trade and commerce power further to seek harmonized privacy laws in Canada,” Daniel Schwanen, […]

Toronto’s public library system has acknowledged that the ransomware gang that hit it last month stole personally identifiable data of employees. “At this point in our investigation we believe current and former staff employed by Toronto Public Library (TPL) and the Toronto Public Library Foundation (TPLF) from 1998 are impacted,” the library said Tuesday. “Information […]

Six days after being asked for comment, the government of Ontario is still considering a public response to recent cyber attacks on hospitals in the province. Last week, an IT World Canada reporter asked for comment from the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery on the ransomware attack on five southwestern Ontario hospitals that […]

Steven Guilbeault, minister of environment and climate change, on behalf of the Canadian government, has unveiled plans to offer guidance on the interim administration of the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), following an opinion from the Supreme Court. The IAA serves as a project tool for the government, enabling the evaluation of projects’ social, economic, environmental […]

The Government of Canada has announced a large step in combating the spread of misinformation and disinformation online. Pascale St-Onge, minister of Canadian heritage, today issued a call for proposals amounting to nearly $7 million under the Digital Citizen Initiative (DCI). This initiative, rooted in the Digital Citizen Contribution Program (DCCP), aims to provide Canadians […]

What does the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security do for infosec pros? Quite a lot, according to Melanie Anderson, the federal agency’s director-general for secure solutions and services. In a keynote speech during IT World Canada‘s MapleSec series of cybersecurity presentations this week, Anderson outlined the free services the federal department offers to help protect […]

Last Friday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) wrapped up two out of the three public consultations it launched in May related to the enactment of Bill C-11 (Online Streaming Act). The legislation, which forces streaming services such as Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, and Disney Plus to contribute to and promote Canadian media content, received […]

Canada’s border control agency is the latest federal department to confirm it was hit by a recent wave of denial of service attacks. “The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) can confirm that connectivity issues that affected kiosks and electronic gates at airports on Sunday, September 17, 2023 are the result of a distributed denial of […]

For the first time, the government has outlined draft regulations intended to establish specific criteria for the implementation of Bill C-18, which til now has been marred with uncertainties. As part of the proposed regulations, the government created a formula that would see Meta and Google cough up four per cent of their annual Canadian […]

The Federal Court of Canada has certified the class action filed against the Government of Canada over the spate of cyber incidents that took place between March and September 2020 attacking the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) accounts of over 45,000 Canadians. The cyber incidents, the government said at the time, used credential stuffing, where passwords […]