The head of Canada’s spy agency delivered a stern warning to business leaders today, telling them that state-sponsored commercial espionage is the “greatest threat” to Canada’s economy.<\/p>\n
In a rare public speech, Canadian Security Intelligence Service Director David Vigneault told members of the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto that while terrorism remains “the number one national security related danger” in Canada, he considers commercial\u00a0espionage\u00a0“the greatest threat to our prosperity and national interest.”<\/p>\n
“Plainly said, there is state-sponsored espionage in Canada,” said\u00a0Vigneault\u00a0in his\u00a0speech. A copy of\u00a0the speech was later posted online.<\/p>\n
“No matter how it’s done or who’s behind it, economic espionage represents a long-term threat to Canada’s economy and to our prosperity.”<\/p>\n
Vigneault said\u00a0CSIS already has seen a trend emerging of state-sponsored espionage in fields like A.I., quantum technology, 5G wireless technology, biopharmaceuticals\u00a0and low-carbon technology.<\/p>\n
“In other words, the foundation of Canada’s future economic growth,” he said.<\/p>\n
Vigneault\u00a0went on to warn the crowd of business leaders that the information their businesses store\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 customer data, intellectual property, prototypes, financial figures \u2014 are attractive to foreign players who yearn to\u00a0“tilt the playing field in their favour and undermine the principles of fair competition.”<\/p>\n
Hostile states can acquire valuable business information through\u00a0a variety of means: they can invest in a firm or buy it outright, and they can resort to cyberattacks and extortion. While CSIS spends much of its time pursuing terrorist threats, Vigneault said\u00a0cyberattacks and commercial espionage pose greater strategic challenges.<\/p>\n
“Now, I’m not trying to fearmonger. I’m not suggesting that Canadian businesses should retreat from international partnerships and investments,” he said.<\/p>\n
“What I am saying is that this needs to be done with eyes wide open. The business community needs to be fully aware of the security threats to which it is exposed.”<\/p>\n
It’s rare to hear directly from Canada’s top spy, something Vigneault\u00a0acknowledged.<\/p>\n
“You will know that the first rule of Fight Club is, ‘Don’t talk about Fight Club.’ Well, the first rule of\u00a0CSIS\u00a0has always been, ‘Don’t talk \u2014\u200b period,'” he joked.<\/p>\n
Vigneault\u00a0wrapped his speech by urging the crowd to raise awareness of state-sponsored espionage in public and within their\u00a0operations.<\/p>\n
According to a recent Statistics Canada survey, more than one in five Canadian companies say they were hit by a cyberattack last year and businesses reported spending $14 billion on cybersecurity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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