Cyberattacks from Indian Hacker Group Impact Canadian Government Websites

Major Canadian institutions, including military and Parliament websites, have been targeted in recent cyberattacks. An Indian hacker group claims responsibility, causing disruption in various government-operated web platforms. However, Canada’s signals-intelligence agency reassures that these “nuisance” attacks probably haven’t compromised private data.
These cyber disturbances impacted several institutions under the federal wing, but they didn’t reach the central infrastructure utilized by different federal departments.
During the disruptions on Wednesday, the Canadian Armed Forces acknowledged that its website was temporarily inaccessible for mobile users. The issue was resolved within hours. It is essential to note that the military’s site is independent of the servers utilized by the Department of Defence and the military’s internal networks.
Defence Minister Bill Blair confirmed the incident was due to a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. In this type of attack, bots flood a website with massive visits, causing it to malfunction. “Our cyber and security officials acted promptly,” Blair remarked.
The House of Commons website also suffered from a DDoS attack, resulting in slow loading or incomplete page displays starting Monday. “We’ve implemented measures to restore services,” assured Amélie Crosson, the House of Commons spokeswoman. The Senate is still recovering from a similar attack that initiated on Monday.
Elections Canada faced a denial-of-service attack for about an hour early Wednesday, Ottawa time. However, they emphasized that the site does not contain any sensitive information and operates separately from their main website.
The Communications Security Establishment, Canada’s signals-intelligence agency, clarified its stance. “DDoS attacks rarely jeopardize information and generally don’t cause permanent damage to systems,” spokesman Ryan Foreman stated.
The Indian Cyber Force hacker group claims to be behind the attacks on the military, Ottawa Hospital, and Elections Canada. They cited Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s remarks on the alleged involvement of India in the assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar as a potential reason.
Interestingly, the hackers’ message displayed on some infiltrated sites showed a Matrix-inspired theme with warlike music playing. Their message attacked Canada as a “haven for terrorists” and criticized Trudeau.
As Chestermere residents and Canadians at large wait for further updates, discussions on an international level continue. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently met with Indian Foreign Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, emphasizing continued cooperation between nations. The focus remains on urging India to collaborate closely with the ongoing Canadian investigations.