Military project aims to boost cyber defence

OTTAWA— Canada’s military says it needs to upgrade its defences against cyberattacks, documents released by the Department of National Defence read.

The documents, released by the department this month, detail a significant and long-term project to give military brass better “situational awareness” of cyberspace, guard against attacks and “respond” to “advanced threats.”

The push for stronger online defences comes as Canada and NATO allies are adapting military doctrine to address the growing role of cyber operations in modern warfare.

The Canadian Armed Forces have “invested heavily in technologies that have radically increased the speed and precision of modern military operations. Underpinning most of these incredible leaps in capability has been a reliance on an increasingly complex cyberspace,” the documents read. “To deliver on its core responsibilities to defend Canada . . . (the Forces must have the) capabilities and flexibility required to successfully address both conventional and asymmetric threats, including cyber attacks.”

Cyberattacks can range from the mundane — temporarily shutting down a website, for instance — to serious, sophisticated attacks against real-world targets.

There are two separate initiatives laid out in the documents: a Cyber Security Awareness project and an upgraded Defensive Cyber Operations unit. The former aims to give military commanders better awareness of the Forces’ online security, while the latter would create an inhouse team to monitor DND’s networks around the clock to detect and respond to cyberattacks and “maintain commanders’ freedom of manoeuvre in cyberspace.”

DND did not immediately respond to a request for comment.