The announcement of the “OpCanada” campaign by the Indian Cyber Force has raised significant cybersecurity concerns amidst the ongoing tensions between India and Canada.
Furthermore, scheduled to begin on September 24, this hacktivist campaign follows a warning from the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security regarding the vulnerability of its digital infrastructure.
The roots of these cybersecurity tensions can be traced to diplomatic conflicts between the two nations, sparked by allegations made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau concerning potential Indian government involvement in the murder of a Khalistani separatist in Canada.
Additionaly, the Indian Cyber Force, in response to these allegations, initiated OpCanada, defacing Canadian websites with accusations against Canadian officials. The group has been actively sharing data samples allegedly stolen from organizations in Bangladesh and Canada.
At the same time, these samples include passport images, personal data of Canadian citizens, credit card information, and more, intensifying the cybersecurity threat landscape. Canada has been grappling with Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks that disrupt networks and websites with massive traffic surges, adding to the cybersecurity concerns in the country.
Finally, while the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security previously issued warnings about Russian state-sponsored cyber threats, OpCanada represents a unique and evolving challenge in the realm of cyber warfare, further highlighting the importance of securing digital infrastructure in an era of geopolitical tensions.
