A massive cyber-espionage breach south of the border has raised alarm bells about the security of Canada’s telecom infrastructure.
Driving the news: Canada’s telecoms are scouring their networks for signs that they’ve been hit with a Chinese cyberattack that has affected companies in dozens of countries and given Beijing access to private communications between top U.S. officials.
- According to the Globe and Mail, the hacking group Salt Typhoon has allegedly accessed calls and texts from officials including president-elect Donald Trump.
- No Canadian breaches have been found, but experts warn that Chinese hackers are known to hide out in critical infrastructure networks until they are ready to attack.
Big picture: Chinese government-backed hackers have compromised at least 20 Canadian government networks in the last four years. Meanwhile, private companies, healthcare systems, and universities have also become more frequent targets of cyberattacks.
Why it matters: Hackers breached the U.S. telecoms by exploiting older equipment that Canada’s telecoms also rely on. Even if Canadians didn't have their personal information breached this time, experts say it's a wake-up call to update the telcos’ infrastructure.—LA