Statement on Russia’s malicious cyber activity affecting Europe and Ukraine

May 10, 2022 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence, and the Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety, today issued the following statement:

“Canada strongly condemns the destructive cyber activity by Russia targeting the European telecommunications sector on February 24, 2022. Canada joins its partners and allies in attributing this activity to Russia.

“On February 24, disruptive cyber activity directly targeted the Viasat KA-SAT satellite Internet service in Ukraine, rendering critical infrastructure for Internet and communications inoperable. This activity disrupted the Internet connectivity of tens of thousands of people across Europe.

“Canada assesses that the Russian military was behind this incident. Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, its malicious cyber activity, and its egregious disinformation campaigns are unacceptable and must stop.

“This most recent incident underlines a pattern of disruptive cyber activity that demonstrates a repeated disregard for the rules-based international order. This activity also demonstrates the willingness of Russia to use its cyber capabilities irresponsibly.

“Previous malicious Russian cyber activities include:

• the targeting of the Ukrainian banking sector in February 2022
• the exploitation of the SolarWinds platform by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) in 2021
• the SVR’s targeting of Canadian COVID-19 vaccine research and development in 2020
• the interference by Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU) in Georgia’s 2020 parliamentary elections
• the development and indiscriminate use of NotPetya malware in 2017, which caused massive damage to government and business networks globally

“Canada, in conjunction with our partners and allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the European Union, will continue to advance a stable cyberspace, built on the applicability and respect of international law and responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.

“Canada is also sharing valuable cyber threat intelligence and providing cyber assistance to Ukraine in an effort to strengthen that country’s defence against Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion.’’

“The Communications Security Establishment’s Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) reminds the Canadian cyber security community, especially critical infrastructure network defenders, to bolster its awareness of and protection against Russian state-sponsored cyber threats. The Cyber Centre encourages all Canadians to follow the updated advice and guidance at Cyber.gc.ca.”