Canadian Cyber News Rewire - 21/03/26
Wiring you into the cyber news relevant to Canada the week ending March 21
The Weekly New Rewire is a survey of cyber or adjacent news stories that I read this past week (or recently). Please leave a comment if you think I missed anything.
Editor Notes:
I have a new paper out with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute:
Go sign Tanya Janca’s Secure-Coding Petition! (Article on this coming soon)
Canadian News
Bell to build 300MW Data centre in Saskatchewan
Bell plans $1.7B AI data centre in Saskatchewan as demand for computing power surges
George Gordon First Nation excited for Bell Canada partnership on AI data centre
I have frequently said that Canada’s big telecoms are best positioned to enter the data centre game. Glad to see Bell leading the charge.
The tenants will be United States corporations “CoreWeave and Cerebras [which] will be bringing in the compute hardware to run the AI workloads in the data centre. If you take the $1.7 billion of direct Bell investment and consider the compute hardware the two tenants will bring, we’re talking essentially close to $12 billion of direct investment right here in the province.”
This has major risk exposure under the US CLOUD Act, but unclear how much non-American data will be processed in this AI data centre.
Meta and TikTok let harmful content rise after evidence outrage drove engagement, say whistleblowers
Whistleblowers confirming what we already knew.
Bill C-22: Lawful access bill could create vulnerabilities for hackers, experts warn
One of the primary worries of Bill C-22 has been it could potentially enable the government to require integrating backdoors for easy lawful interception. Beyond the concerns that this could be abused, there is also major concerns that cyber threat actors, particularly China and Russia, could exploit this infrastructure.
Secret Canada: Doug’s transparent cloak of self-serving secrecy
Doug Ford doesn’t want to be accountable and wants to hide what he is doing. Should we assume that Doug Ford’s office is engaged in illegal activities and that is why he does not want to release information?
Manitoba Government Ending Predatory Pricing in Grocery Stores and Other Retail
“Manitoba government has introduced an amendment to the Business Practices Act that would ban retailers from using consumers’ personal data to increase the price of goods for a specific consumer”
Manitoba bill goes after grocers using ‘predatory pricing’ to charge some customers more online
Instagram to remove end-to-end encryption for private messages in May
Meta will be ending end-to-end encryption in private messages. My only assumption can be that they will soon begin harvesting data from these messages to make a greater profit off of their users and occasionally for legal takedowns and removal of criminal content.
“We’re in a moment in Canada”: Solomon brings AI pitch to Platform Calgary
Montréal computer scientist Gilles Brassard wins Turing Award for quantum discoveries
A good reminder that Canada is the source for a lot of the most high-end and emerging quantum research that is helping Canada be amongst the leaders in quantum research and quantum applications.
Manitoba launches AI consultations as it weighs tougher privacy and youth protections
Provinces will increasingly try to address the legal gap on AI as the federal government fails to enact regulations and laws to address the risks and threats of unmitigated AI.
Google Search is now using AI to replace headlines
Google is destroying what turned it into a global giant.
1Password launches new platform to rein in companies’ AI agents
Securing AI agents is going to be massive business. Interesting to see 1Password getting in so early.
DND/CAF 2026-27 Departmental Plan
DND/CAF releases its departmental plans. I am likely to do a long review of this and the departmental results for next month as I do every year.
Defence Investment Agency announces new contract for Surveillance of Space 2 project
DIA continues to be busy with space ISR projects.
C4ISR & Beyond 2026 Highlights
Vanguard Canada summary of C4ISR and Beyond, a yearly conference on C4ISR and the CAF.
Canadian Cyber in Context subscribers can view and watch more here.
US, Canada and Germany move to dismantle four high-volume IoT botnets
Taking down botnets
Developing story where it has been discovered that the Canadaland podcast worked with the Canadaland subreddit to create an IP tracer website and attempting to phish journalists to discover the ownership behind sock puppet accounts.
Canadians face ‘tsunami’ of transnational repression in coming years, cyber-research group says
Ron Deibert and Citizen Lab providing testimony to House of Commons, this is coverage of that testimony.
The first National Summit on Articial Intelligence and Culture is held
Cost of federal IT project explodes to up to $6.6 billion
Not surprising. Ottawa has habitually underfunded such modernization efforts, so this is maybe a positive sign that the proper investment will occur.
Canada Cyber Threat Watch
While not all attacks are reported or receive media attention, any notable or open-source cyber attacks on Canadian organizations and any relevant cyber threat intelligence to Canada will be posted here. I only list the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security’s (CCCS) alerts here, not all advisories; follow the full feed here.
Alert - AL26-005 – Critical vulnerability impacting Microsoft SharePoint Server – CVE-2026-20963
ShinyHunters Hackers Threaten 400 Firms Over Stolen Salesforce Data
ShinyHunters have seen increasing success lately. (See Telus)
Supply-chain attack using invisible code hits GitHub and other repositories
A lot of supply chain attacks are hitting Github as both state actors and criminals see the potential to compromise github repositories as an attack vecture.
FancyBear Exposed: Major OPSEC Blunder Inside Russian Espionage Ops
Russian APT left open directories on a server with exploits and other major tools and information.
New Malware Highlights Increased Systematic Targeting of Network Infrastructure
Crypto e-commerce platform Bitrefill accuses North Korea of stealing 18,500 purchase records
Bitrefill can be used in Canada, so this has some impact on Canadians.
Vancouver-based Westport Fuel System’s Statement on Cybersecurity Incident
Have your business and logo featured in Canadian Cyber in Context with a sponsorship.
Research, Op-Eds, and Events
Recorded Future 2025 Identity Threat Landscape Report
Nice eye catching opener: “Credential theft is the dominant initial access vector for enterprise breaches.”
Report on the broader ransomware ecosystem.
Telegram’s Crackdown in 2026 and Why Cyber Criminals Are Still Winning (h/t Catalin Cimpanu)
More than 43.5 million channels were blocked in 2025, but that has done little to stem the flow of criminal activity on Telegram.
Michael Geist: The Lawful Access Privacy Risks: Unpacking Bill C-22’s Expansive Metadata Retention Requirements
Why Alignment Matters: Cyber Capabilities and Military Operational Schemes in All-Domain Operations
By the authors of cyber persistence theory. A great article.
United States News
US Congress Judiciary committee demands Big Tech share private comms with EU officials
US politicians are demanding the communications of the European Commission related to enforcement of EU law.
This is a direct attack on European sovereignty. The US CLOUD Act makes this infinitely easier for them to do this. This is a warning shot and it will only get worse.
House Republicans introduce bill to go after Canada’s Online Streaming Act
This was inevitable and there are major problems with the Online Streaming Act, but new implications as Republicans and the United States continue to attack Canadian sovereignty.
Elon Musk’s xAI faces child porn lawsuit from minors Grok allegedly undressed
U.S Strikes Killed Iranian Cyber Chiefs, But The Hacks Continued
Not all countries conduct cyber operations the same. To assume a strict command and control and to remove all an actor’s capabilities to take our leadership or the HQ is extreme naivety or ignorance.
Federal Cyber Experts Thought Microsoft’s Cloud Was “a Pile of Shit.” They Approved It Anyway.
Kind of reminds me of a few other examples north of the United States. The Government of Canada loves to spend money on Microsoft cloud, including DND/CAF.
Declassified Report Reveals NSA Broke Surveillance Rules
And now we are supposed to believe they’ll follow the US CLOUD Act rules correctly? This is how they act regarding their own citizens personal information and data. They care even less about non-Americans data.
Hacked crosswalks in Denver claim ‘Trump murders children’
Low level hacktivism
Energy Department set to release its first-ever cyber strategy
I am of the opinion all departments should have a cyber strategy. Most will have some level of planning, but it’s a matter of how much leadership is engaged in this planning that also includes strategizing.
FBI is buying data that can be used to track people, Patel says
Why request data through a process that may not be legal when the corporation will just sell you the data?
Watchdog urges DOD to address external factors affecting CMMC implementation
CMMC is what CPCSC is modelled after, although it has begun to diverge enough to make CPCSC its own approach.
Cyberattack on vehicle breathalyzer company leaves drivers stranded across US
An Insane story of what happens when critical services that work on behalf of the state fails in their cybersecurity. Appears to be affecting multiple states.
Customer Updates: Stryker Network Disruption
Stryker providing updates on its recovery operations after the Iranian cyber attack.
Marquis says over 672,000 people had personal and financial data stolen in ransomware attack
A lot of fintech compromises of late, which are a favorite target of criminals.
White House pours cold water on cyber ‘letters of marque’ speculation
Senior officials finally made clear they were not interested in allowing private companies to conduct offensive cyber operations. With that said, this administration is now to change directions on a whim, misinformation, or current senile rambling of the president, so take this with a grain of salt.
President Donald J. Trump Unveils National AI Legislative Framework
Six key objectives: Protecting Children and Empowering Parents; Safeguarding and Strengthening American Communities; Respecting Intellectual Property Rights and Supporting Creators; Preventing Censorship and Protecting Free Speech; Enabling Innovation and Ensuring American AI Dominance; Educating Americans and Developing an AI-Ready Workforce.
California city reports ransomware attack as LA transit agency finds ‘unauthorized activity’
I get the sense that attacks on public organizations is on the rise.
United Kingdom and European Union News
EU sanctions Chinese and Iranian actors over cyberattacks on critical infrastructure
Sanctioning a few companies and individuals.
New UK disruption unit launched in crackdown on fraud
UK investing $250 over 3 years into new Online Crime Centre.
Hundreds of Millions of iPhones Can Be Hacked With a New Tool Found in the Wild
Another major iphone exploit tool found in the wild used by Russia.
Russian hackers exploit Zimbra flaw to breach Ukrainian maritime agency
Cyber conflict remains active between Russia and Ukraine
Belgium launches secure messaging app for government staff
With how much no one can rely upon US-based apps and infrastructure, I am not surprised by this move.
(Google Translated Title) The aircraft carrier “Charles de Gaulle” located in real time by “Le Monde” thanks to the sports app
« StravaLeaks » : le porte-avions « Charles-de-Gaulle » localisé en temps réel par « Le Monde » grâce à l’application de sport
An every present problem for state defence and national security institutions. This has been a problem since the late 2000s with US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is a known issue that I would wager a guess that all NATO countries have a policy about.
Cyber attacks inflicted $220 mln losses on Russia, says Kyiv
Indirect losses amount to approximately $1.5 billion.
Russian government hackers targeting Signal and WhatsApp users, Dutch spies warn
Encrypted messaging apps will always be a top target.
Other International News
Digg Shut Down due to Bot Problem
This is just the beginning. This will continue to be a problem as many social media platforms
Japan to Begin Active Cyber Defense Operations in Oct.
CAFCYBERCOM has increasingly been cooperating with many Indo-Pacific countries including Japan as part of greater Canadian presence in the Indo-Pacific.
CAFCYBERCOM and JDF conducted joint defensive cyber operations in 2025.
Payload Claims Data Breach on Royal Bahrain Hospital (RBH)
Noteworthy for its target as Bahrain is amongst the targets for Iranian drones and reprisal attacks due to the United States and Israel’s attack on Iran.
Great to see this. Open source software is a massive target for APTs and cyber threat actors and a major ecosystem change needs to happen to better protect open source software.
Industry Accord Against Online Scams & Fraud
A group of major multinational corporations have signed an accord to word together and fight online scams and fraud.
Signatories so far include: Adobe, Pinterst, Google, OpenAI, LinkedIn, Match Group, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Target, Levi Strauss & Co.
Blocking the Internet Archive Won’t Stop AI, But It Will Erase the Web’s Historical Record
Internet Archive is increasingly being blocked as part of sweeping efforts to block website scraping, particularly to prevent AI and LLMs.
Thank you for a wonderful recap of cyber matters and very good article on CAFCYBERCOM on CGAI. How goes the dissertation?