Canada could become a cyber warrior nation, says former CSIS director
Cyber warfare is "as serious a threat as terrorism" to national security, says Canada's former spymaster Richard Fadden.
Richard Fadden knows a lot about the priorities of Canadian intelligence and threats to national security. He was director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service from 2009 until 2013. He then became the national security adviser to Stephen Harper and briefly for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Canada's former top spymaster joins The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti to share his insights on the challenges facing Canadian intelligence in countering terrorism, cyber threats and Russian espionage.
He argues we need greater dialogue with the private sector to deal with cyber threats and find ways to suppress them.
"We have not over the years, and by years I mean decades, been very good at sharing classified information with selective parts of the private sector so we can have a real dialogue about who is doing what to whom."
In Canada there is no requirement to report cyber attacks against sectors or corporations, Fadden tells Anna Maria and questions this move. "How do you deal with these threats if you can't figure out where they are coming from, how many there are are and how serious they are."
When asked if Canada might engage in offensive cyber war, Fadden points to Canadian law that doesn't allow this but says "the military would be irresponsible not to take into account these sorts of threats."
This segment was produced by The Current's Howard Goldenthal.