Anonymous hackers leak Treasury file
Latest release aims to affect election
As part of their vendetta against the Canadian government, hackers with Anonymous have leaked another high-level federal document — about the redevelopment of Canada’s key diplomatic centres in Britain — that the National Post has confirmed is an authentic and official confidential document.
This is the second document leaked by a cell of the shadowy hacktivist group, raising serious questions about how Canada’s secure infrastructure was breached and whether more secrets are at stake.
T he latest doc ument, designated “secret” and marked “confidence of the Queen’s Privy Council,” discusses government cost overruns — but an eventual anticipated profit — from the Department of Foreign Af- fairs’ selling, relocating and refurbishing of Canada’s diplomatic buildings in London, one of its last major acts under then-minister John Baird.
The Treasury Board of Canada document is dated Feb. 6, 2014, the same as one released in July by the same group. The first document revealed the closely-guarded secret of the specific size of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service’s network of foreign stations and problems with their outdated cybersecurity.
Both documents have now been confirmed as authentic by a knowledgeable government source.
The Post also confirmed the federal government has mounted an internal investigation to determine how the documents got into the hands of activists.
“They have their best people on it. … It’s a bit of a black eye on public-sector security,” said the source on condition they not be named. Federal authorities are comparing versions of the documents and scanning for discrepancies that may help track down from whose hands it may have slipped.
“It just goes to show, you have to do more to keep things secure,” said the government source.
The latest release, accompanied by a steeply rhetorical video message offering dark interpretations of some information the group claims to have, is designed to influence the federal election, said an Anonymous spokesman in encrypted communication with the Post.
While acknowledging the legitimacy of the documents released, the government source dismissed conspiracy claims made by the activists, including any claim the dip- lomatic moves were linked to CSIS and spying, as “wholly false.”
Anonymous says there are other documents, promising a slow release in an attempt to pressure the government over the fatal shooting of a protester in British Columbia and the passing of Bill C-51, the controversial anti-terrorism bill that gave expanded powers to police and Canada’s spy agency.
That said, on its face, the document does not offer much in the way of scandal — the Treasury Board approved Foreign Affairs’ plan, saying the contracting process was fair and the arrangement would reduce operating costs and boost revenues.
The document says proceeds from the sale of one diplomatic property would eventually more than make up for the increased cost of the “fit-up” of the purchased building, saying, “The Prime Minister supports this funding approach with the proviso that excess funds are returned to the fiscal framework.”
Li s a Murphy, s pokeswoman for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, did not answer specific questions about the documents.
“We do not comment on leaked documents. The government of Canada is committed to sound stewardship and information-management practices,” she said. “We are continuously taking measures to ensure the safeguarding of our information holdings. The Treasury Board Secretariat is committed to protecting classified information on its networks.”
The document relates to Foreign Affairs juggling its diplomatic presence in London. In 2012, the government purchased a 1920s office building at 2/4 Cockspur St., next door to Canada House, Canada’s high commission building overlooking Trafalgar Square.
Then Macdonald House, a mansion at 1 Grosvenor Sq. that housed much of Canada’s diplomatic machinery, was sold, with workers moving to the new building. The successful bidder was the Lodha Group, an Indian property developer.
The Treasury Board document says the purchase price was $560 million — “more than $300 million higher than originally anticipated.”
Anonymous activists launched the group’s latest Canadian protest, called Operation Anon Down, after the RCMP’s fatal shooting of James McIntyre, 48, in Dawson City, B.C., in July. McIntyre was an Anonymous activist and appeared to be wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, adopted by Anonymous as its symbol, while protesting a planned hydroelectric project for B.C.’s Peace River.
An anonymous spokesman for the hacktivist group said several secret documents were taken during breaches of supposedly secure government computers over several months.