Finance Department at risk of big impact cyberattack

OTTAWA — The federal Finance Department is facing a medium risk of a cyberattack that could deliver a significant blow to its ability to carry out some crucial government operations, says a newly released internal analysis. Finance, like other federal departments, publicly discloses a handful of its corporate risks — but a list obtained by The Canadian Press provides a deeper look at the key concerns for 2018-19 that had been left out of the public’s view. Unlike the public report, the internal analysis gauges both the likelihood and severity for seven risks facing Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s department.

“Of the seven corporate risks... five are now considered key corporate risks because of their significant risk score (high and medium-high level) and their link to the departmental mandate,’’ said the document, prepared in late February for deputy finance minister Paul Rochon and restricted to “very limited distribution.’’