Canadian Cyber News Rewire - 4/04/26
Wiring you into the cyber news relevant to Canada the week ending April 4
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 two new papers out with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute:
Go sign Tanya Janca’s Secure-Coding Petition!
The article is finally out and can be read here.
Canadian News
Hackers, barns, and breakfast: Why agriculture needs cybersecurity
Agriculture cyber security has been a long time coming.
Rogers and Freedom Mobile say they suffered data breaches in recent weeks
Have any Canadian telecoms not suffered a breach?
Why Does Ottawa Keep Funding Fake Canadian Companies?
The definitions of what is a “Canadian” company are very loose. This affects cyber and cloud as we have discussed before, but it has larger economic impact that the government is slowly trying to address.
Oracle slashes 30,000 jobs with a cold 6 a.m. email
Unclear of the direct impact on Canada, but Oracle has a large presence in Canada, especially in government.
Blackberry has shifted away from its cellphone does and does great now in cybersecurity, so they are ones to keep an eye on.
U.S. targets Canada’s cloud-computing move as trade irritant
The United States doesn’t want Canada to have sovereignty. They are incapable of understanding they are the risk we want to avoid.
Anthropic employee error exposes Claude Code source
Company that habitually infringes on other’s copyright is now concerned about their own copyright.
Microsoft’s Terms of Use says Copilot is only for entertainment purposes
Exact wording: “Copilot is for entertainment purposes only. It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended. Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk.”
This should tell you everything you should know about LLMs. They are toys that Microsoft and others are trying to convince you will change the world, while they themselves know it is breaking and making everything worse.
Exclusive: Meta has discussed ending funding to the Oversight Board
This should be grounds to increase litigation against Meta and Facebook. This oversight board was setup due to the overwhelming unethical behaviour on behalf of Facebook, now Meta. Meta stands out amongst social media companies in that they seem to actively try to make things worse, more toxic, and harmful all to produce profit.
Stop using Facebook.
There’s a small, but growing defence and security industry in BC.
LinkedIn Is Illegally Searching Your Computer
Major claims that Microsoft is essentially running one of the largest corporate espionage operations via Linkedin.
Canadian Armed Forces Cyber Command launches Official Command Badge
They’ve had an unofficial patch/bade for a while, so great they now have an official command badge.
“The green and black field reflects the Command’s integration of signals intelligence, electronic warfare, and cyber operations across the digital and electromagnetic domains. The green represents signals intelligence heritage, while the black represents electronic warfare and operations within the contested electromagnetic spectrum. The chess knight represents the deliberate application of cyber capabilities in both defensive and offensive contexts. A lightning bolt and interlaced rings highlight operational precision and expertise in signals intelligence, while the Royal Crown and maple leaves affirm constitutional authority and national service.”
Alberta scraps environmental assessment for Kevin O’Leary’s ‘world’s largest’ data centre
Still in the planning phases so there’s a chance nothing will come of this, especially with O’Leary attached to this. However, this lack of environmental assessment is likely to become the norm, which sets a concerning precedent due to how major of an impact data centres can have on local environments and populations.
Officials still investigating what led to cyber incident at London health unit
CAFCYBERCOM showcases new AI cyber tool at NATO exercise
I have heard of this tool before, but I don’t know much about it other than that it’s really well liked and getting a lot of attention
“The capability, a Cyber Indications and Warning (I&W) tool, was designed and developed by five members of 33 Signals Regiment working on Class A time since January 2025. Their objective was to explore how large language models could support cyber operations through analysis, translation, and geolocation, while also enabling the seamless sharing of insights into a broader operational picture.”
Canada’s first full-stack, university-owned quantum computer comes to USask
Some of the best uses for quantum computers remain to write academic papers about, but we’re slowly getting to more operational use with hybrid computing.
NGen announces nearly $80 million for Canadian manufacturers to adopt AI
Government of Canada launches review of the Privacy Act
Canada is LONG overdue for updated privacy laws.
Canada is expanding high-speed Internet access in Nunavut
$86 million federal investment, piggybacks off the $600 million contract w/Telesat
CDW Canada: Cyberattacks Targeting Canadian Enterprises Surge Nearly 80% Year Over Year
Report from CDW Canada has some very interesting info and statistics. Suggest that there is a “security maturity illusion.” which is a common topic, but fascinating that it is getting to a level that a cybersecurity firm is saying it’s impacting the wider Canadian threat surface.
Canadian Cyber Intelligence
While not all attacks are reported or receive media attention, any notable or open-source cyber attacks on Canadian organizations and any relevant cyber 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.
Critical Citrix NetScaler memory flaw actively exploited in attacks
Citrix used to be quite common in Canada amongst businesses, but not sure what its market presence is these days.
One of the most popular JavaScript packages on earth Axios has been compromised
I’ve been saying for a year now that there needs to be industry- and government-wide engagement to address the growing security problem with open-source software.
Google links axios supply chain attack to North Korean group
Iran targets M365 accounts with password-spraying attacks
They’ve been doing M365 password spraying for years
Ransomware detection and file restoration for Google Drive now generally available
New criminal service plans to monetize data stolen by ransomware gangs
This is a particularly concerning innovation. If successful, this will change the cyber crime market.
DPRK Malware Modularity: Diversity and Functional Specialization
Have your business and logo featured in Canadian Cyber in Context with a sponsorship.
Research, Op-Eds, and Events
This will change nothing. Those selling you AI will downplay this.
The Perils of Privatized Cyberwarfare
By Ron Deibert from Citizen Lab, who is on the forefront of defending civilians from privatized cyber warfare.
Event: Securing AI systems: New challenges and research priorities
Being held April 20-21, online attendance is possible.
United States News
Meta ordered to pay $375m after being found liable in child exploitation case
How Thomson Reuters Powers ICE and Palantir
Data brokers generally don’t care about ethics.
State Department reissues $10 million reward for info on Iranian hackers (Handala)
Iran threatens Nvidia, Apple and other tech giants with attacks
Also includes Cisco, HP, Intel, Oracle, IBM, Dell, Palantir, JPMorgan, Tesla, GE, and more.
Hasbro takes some systems offline after cybersecurity incident
May need a few weeks to recover.
‘Serious cyberattack’ impacts phones, public safety systems in Massachusetts towns
FBI declares suspected Chinese hack of US surveillance system a ‘major cyber incident’
New NSA director pushes for more intel-sharing with allies in internal meeting
This is good to hear. He is former Indo-Pacific deputy commander, so that likely plays a role in his understanding that partnerships are key.
ICE says it bought Paragon’s spyware to use in drug trafficking cases
Acting Director states they will comply with constitutional requirements. Somehow we’re supposed to believe ICE, which has a greater track record than any other agency of infringing on people’s constitutional rights.
Rep. Summer Lee, Colleagues Slam DHS Response on ICE Use of Foreign Spyware, Vow Continued Oversight
CyberCorps grads consider private sector as fed hiring challenges persist
CyberCorps is a program of the US Office of Personnel Management to provide scholarship for cybersecurity professionals. It has been a great program to bring cybersecurity professionals in the government and has been a constant source of people. The Trump admin has completely destroyed its government cybersecurity workforce and institutions.
Even Artemis II Astronauts Have Microsoft Outlook Problems
At the end of time and the universe there will be Microsoft Outlook problems.
DoD still failing to properly mark CUI data years after initial audit
This is a hilariously bad idea. China and DPRK have growing and more advanced cyber operations programs, but the Army is relaxing cybersecurity training.
United Kingdom and European Union News
The rise of facial recognition policing
This is a UK-focused article, but has global implications.
European Commission downplays ShinyHunters cyberattack impact
ShinyHunters do have a history of overblowing their extortion attempts. However, most ransomware and extortion cyber threat actors tend to do the same, so it’s why everything they cyber threat actors claim should always be taken cautiously.
Europe’s cyber agency blames hacking gangs for massive data breach and leak
“The stolen data was then posted online by another hacking group, the notorious ShinyHunters. “
(Google Translated) An Italian company’s spyware was posing as WhatsApp. Meta: “Affected users notified.”
UK Regulator Probes Microsoft While Backing Voluntary Cloud Rules
Other International News
An AI Agent Was Banned From Creating Wikipedia Articles, Then Wrote Angry Blogs About Being Banned
Didn’t take them long to ban their first clanker.
An AI avatar is running to represent Indigenous voters in Colombia
Australia: Five social media platforms flagged for compliance issues
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube are being investigated related to Australia’s social media minimum age laws.
(Google Translated) Korea Internet & Security Agency Launches ‘Ransomware Full Lifecycle Response Task Force’
There has been a spat of high level ransomware incidents in South Korea of late, so this is an unsurprising, but welcome response.
Iran Says It Hit Oracle Facilities in the UAE
Not the first data centres hit, but now confirms and shows that data centres are a target in military conflict.
Sydney Councils Warn Data Centre Boom Is Set To Strain Housing And Utilities
Good article as this strain is going on everywhere right now. Because Western countries can no longer trust the United States, there’s a mad rush to develop sovereign data centres.
Cambodia parliament approves law to combat cybercrime scam rings
The Hack That Exposed Syria’s Sweeping Security Failures
I’m not a fan of this article, but it is important to share. This sort of overlooks the context for which Syria is in and assumes a similar baseline of capacity.
Mexico Confronts a Silent Cyber War. It Can No Longer Outsource (H/t Sherpa Intelligence, go give them a follow)
As Mexico increasingly digitizes, it becomes the primary target in Latin America for cyber attacks.