Under the leadership of CSIS Head Daniel Rogers, the agency is exposing hostile actors, safeguarding vital networks, and working hand-in-hand with Canadian businesses to shape a stronger, more resilient cyber future.
In February, the Government released its updated National Cyber Security Strategy – Securing Canada’s Digital Future. How is CSIS contributing to this strategy, and what should Canadians know about how it will improve our national resilience?
CSIS was a key partner during the development of the National Cyber Security Strategy, providing insight into the ways in which Canada is threatened by hostile state cyber actors. CSIS investigates human and technical threats to Canada’s security, both at home and abroad, and we maintain valued partnerships with Canadian agencies, such as Communication Security Establishment (CSE), which notably includes the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), as well as the RCMP. CSIS collects intelligence on national security cyber threats by leveraging our unique authorities to collect information that CSE and CCCS may not be able to collect. As a member of the Five Eyes, Canada continues to work with our trusted foreign partners to disrupt the activities of malicious actors, as exemplified by our participation in the US-led Dying Ember 2024 takedown of significant digital infrastructure used by Russian cyber threat actors.
We’ve seen growing concern about foreign cyber actors targeting Canada’s critical infrastructure. How serious is this threat today, and what role does CSIS play in helping protect these vital sectors?
This threat is a serious and growing concern. Like many of our allies, Canada is a target for malicious cyber actors looking to gain access to critical networks to be leveraged for information, money, sabotage, or other offensive purposes. CSIS plays a crucial role in helping protect the networks of Canada’s critical infrastructure, using its extensive intelligence-gathering apparatus to provide unique insight into the tactics, capabilities, and motivations of adversaries. For example, recently CSIS and CCCS participated in a US-led joint cybersecurity advisory calling out PRC state-sponsored malicious cyber activity targeting telecommunications companies across the globe.
With the rise of AI-powered threats, how is CSIS preparing for this new era of cyber-enabled influence and foreign interference?
The rise of AI-powered threats has significantly increased the complexity of the broader cyber threat to Canada. CSIS continues to adapt to this reality by collaborating with academic institutions and private sector; and by leveraging its own intelligence collection to gain insight into evolving foreign actor approaches to mitigate these threats now and in the future. CSIS is also investing in the development of a workforce with expertise in AI, machine learning, and data science.
With new authorities granted under Bill C‑70 related to cyber intelligence operations and growing public concern about surveillance, how is CSIS ensuring its activities remain transparent?
C-70 legislative changes have enabled CSIS to provide more tangible information to partners outside of the federal government, including in provincial/territorial/Indigenous governments, industry, and academia to help them better understand and recognize threats to national security, including cyber threats. The ability to do so, will in and of itself increase transparency with Canadians.
CSIS remains accountable to the government, parliament, and the Canadian public for all of its activities, and it is subject to robust oversight through a variety of mechanisms, including ministerial direction, parliamentary oversight, the Intelligence Commissioner, the Federal Court, and independent review bodies like the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency and the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.
How is CSIS supporting the private sector, especially industries vulnerable to cyber espionage?
CSIS’s close collaboration with the private sector helps advance a whole-of-society approach to building resilience to the ever-growing cyber threat. CSIS has been working with Canadian businesses and business associations, including the Business Council of Canada (BCC) and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, to provide support and enhance collaboration by sharing information to increase industry understanding of – and build resilience – against threats, including cyber threats. Another example is how CSIS regularly engages with the Canadian Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, and the Energy Security Technical Advisory Committee.
