E-Paper
Canadians get ‘you tested Covid-19 +ve’ texts, govt to launch cyber security app
Covid-19 update: As scams become rampant, Canada’s electronic spy agency, Communications Security Establishment Canada, has tied up with the non-profit Canadian Internet Registration Authority to launch the free tool, CIRA Canadian Shield.
One of Canada’s spy agencies is leveraging its database of online threats and has joined with a non-profit internet domain registrar to roll out an app to counter the phenomenon of fraud related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Multiple instances of fraudulent activity have been reported in recent weeks following the onset of the coronavirus crisis. Among these are phishing emails to government workers, many of whom are operating from home without adequate cybersecurity. Scammers have targeted vulnerable Canadians with offers of advances on government payouts, or products like face masks and sanitisers that have been in demand. Messages have been received by people purportedly from Public Health Canada telling them they have tested positive for Covid-19 or from the World Health Organisation peddling lists of coronavirus patients in a person’s vicinity.
Follow latest updates on coronavirus here
As these scams become rampant, Canada’s electronic spy agency, Communications Security Establishment Canada, has tied up with the non-profit Canadian Internet Registration Authority to launch the free tool, CIRA Canadian Shield.
The “threat feed” of the spy agency’s Canadian Centre for Cyber Security or Cyber Centre has been integrated into the Shield, and will prevent users devices from connecting to malicious websites and other platforms. “This partnership provides Canadian Shield users with enhanced protections through Cyber Centre derived threat intelligence,” CIRA said in a statement.
Explaining the rationale behind the project, the CIRA release noted, “As Canadians have shifted to working and learning from home en masse due to Covid-19, their personal devices and home networks are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Unfortunately, most do not have access to the protection that large corporations and institutions apply to their data and devices. Canadian Shield will provide enterprise-grade privacy and cybersecurity protection to Canadians.”
Click here for complete coronavirus coverage
Scott Jones, head of Cyber Centre, said, “Thanks to our work defending Government of Canada systems against cyber attacks, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security possesses a unique perspective on the Canadian cyber threat landscape. By sharing our cyber threat intelligence with service providers such as CIRA, we are contributing to a made-in-Canada initiative that will raise the cyber security bar for all Canadians.”
While concerns over privacy have been flagged, CIRA has stressed personal information is not being collected and there’s no question of monetising user data.
